The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
by Zauz
Summary: After 100% completing The Wind Waker HD, this author casts his experience into a web book. This can be enjoyed by both Zelda fans and those who don't know about the series and are just looking for a good read.
1. A Very Merry Birthday

_This is but one of the legends of which the people speak..._

" _Long ago, there existed_ _a kingdom_ _where a_ _golden power_ _lay hidden. It was a prosperous land blessed with_ _green forests_ _,_ _tall mountains_ _, and peace._

 _But one day,_ _a man of great evil_ _found the golden power and took it for himself. With its strength at his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom. But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of_ _fate_ _seemed at hand..._

 _...a_ _young_ _man_ _clothed in green_ _appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the_ _blade of evil's bane_ _, he_ _sealed the dark one away_ _and gave the land light._

 _This_ _man_ _, who_ _was willing to sacrifice his childhood_ _to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time. The_ _man_ _'s tale was passed down through generations until it became legend..._ _b_ _ut then, a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the hero once again crept forth from the depths of the earth, eager to resume its dark designs._

 _The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them..._ _b_ _ut the hero did not appear. Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the_ _Gods_ _. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate._

 _What became of that kingdom? None remain who know._

 _The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind's breath. On_ _a certain island_ _, it became customary to_ _garb boys in green_ _when they came of age. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspired to find_ _heroic blades_ _and c_ _ut_ _down evil. The elders wished only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend."_

* * *

"And that was the story! What do you think?"

In the centre of a room stood an old, bearded, short man. He had a gigantic cranium that made him look like he was wearing a turban. He wore glasses that made his eyes look like footballs, a blue dressing gown with a dark blue strap and he carried a walking stick. His eyes widened as he saw that his pooped pupil was snoring like a grizzly bear.

"ZzzzzZZZZzzzzz… ZZZZZzzzZZZZZZzzzzz..."

"LINK? What is the meaning of this? You fell asleep during my magnum opus?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes! I'm awake, sir! I'm awake!" Stuttered the student, jumping up and sitting with his legs crossed.

Sturgeon's student was about twelve. He had large cat eyes and messy blonde hair, the latter was understandable because he had just woken up from a wooden floor. He wore a blue shirt with a crawfish design on the front of it with waves going around the torso area, some short arm warmers, yellow flannel bottoms and some slippers that went rather high up. They looked like you'd use them for hiking in Switzerland, not stepping into in the morning.

"Seriously! I give free history lessons to the people of this island, and they all decide that the lesson is a good time for a nap! For a lad called 'Link', you sure aren't linked to my stor-"

Sturgeon looked out of the window with surprise. It was a bright and sunny day. The sun beat down on Outset Island like eggs in a frying pan. One problem: It was night when the lesson began.

Sturgeon recoiled at the realisation, but then he gave a sheepish smile to his pupil.

"Sorry, fella! Guess I got a bit carried away!"

"That's OK, sir. I, um, am not really into staying up all night." Said the boy with a weary smile. He ruffled his hair about to get it out of his face.

"BIG BROTHER!" came a high pitched young voice from outside. Link's eyes opened up with surprise.

"BIG BROTHEEEER!" Came the voice again. Suddenly, an adult female's voice joined in, but Link couldn't make out what she was saying as she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs

"No, he wasn't on the lookout. The only other place I remember him going is…"

The voice gasped as the answer struck like lightning.

"Sturgeon's house! That's it! Thanks, Sue-Belle!" Loud flopping footsteps came closer and closer to the house before they started sounding up the ladder. A small girl flung open the door. She had fair hair that was tied into dangling twin tails at the back. She wore a blue dress bespangled with flower designs and finally, she wore a pair of brown shoes.

"Brother! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

A smile traversed across Link's face. Sturgeon followed up with a smile of his own. This girl was Link's sister, Aryll. She was adored by everyone she met, even old and usually grumpy men like Sturgeon.

"Sis! It's you! What's going on? What's all the hurry?"

Aryll tilted her head, as if confused. She put her smile back on and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Do you know what day it is today?" She panted with excitement like a puppy about to go on a walk.

"Uuuuuummmmmm… Happy mirth day?" Link grinned, having made a joke about not only his sister's excitement, but also another well known holiday, a-

"Birthday!" Squealed Aryll. Um… Thank you for finishing for me, ma'am. Maybe that was just bad timing. Anyway, let's press on.

"You got it! Birthday! It's your birthday!" Cheered the girl, clearly having misunderstood his joke.

 _"Wow! What a lucky blummin' guess!"_ Thought Link in astonishment. Then he realised something.

Something embarrassing.

SOMETHING THAT MADE HIM WANT TO HIDE HIS FACE WITH HIS MESSY HAIR.

 _ **HE HAD FORGOTTEN HIS OWN BIRTHDAY.**_

His remark about "Happy Mirth Day" was just a made-up holiday he pulled out of his mind where you basically just go round while smiling like a door-to-door salesman. He had no idea that it was actually his birthday.

 _"Link, you utter plonker!"_ Blared Link's inner voice. How could he forget that it was his birthday?

"Aah! Link! I just remembered! You are twelve today, are you not?" Asked Sturgeon as he poured himself some herbal tea.

"Um… Yes, sir." Link gave a polite bow to the teacher.

"Well, that means your grandmother must want to see you! There is something that every new twelve-year-old must do on their special day!"

"Yes! You're right! Granny wants to see you right away!" Said Aryll. "Oh, and afterwards, meet me at my lookout post! I want to show you my treat for your birthday!"

With no warning came a loud bang from below. The sticks propping up the wall shelves in the room collapsed from the impact, causing the shelves to flop down. The pots and plants on the shelves fell to the floor, where they shattered to pieces like raindrops. Sturgeon's cup snapped right off it's handle. It tumbled to the floor, spilling herbal tea everywhere.

Sturgeon stood still, silently holding the handle of his cup and saucer as if nothing happened. The kids stared on in shock as he started shaking as if he had touched an electric fence, making a VERY frustrated noise.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGHHHHH..."

He dropped his handle to the floor and began pounding the floor with his foot, steam pouring from his ears.

" _ **Such a racket! Can't you keep quiet!? You've knocked everything off my shelves again, you dratted hooligan!"**_

"'Again?' Come on, big brother, let's leave. This is about to get ugly." whispered Aryll.

* * *

With that, the kids left Sturgeon's floor of the house. He lived with his brother, Orca, but they didn't get along too well, unlike Link and his sister. Orca lived on the bottom floor of the house and there was no way up in there, but to the right of his door, there was a ladder. If you climbed that ladder, you would find Sturgeon's part of the house. The two didn't really see each other too much, except to argue over Sturgeon's obsession on fragile pottery and Orca's obsession over kicking the large wooden fish sculpture at the back of his room.

The siblings exited the room, climbed down the ladder and stepped onto the fresh grass of their island. The island was actually two separate islands connected by two wooden bridges. One was a sturdy wooden bridge that hung low over the ocean and the other was a rickety rope bridge up a small mountain, which connected to a forest. These two bridges made the islands qualify as one.

Link lived in a cottage with his only parental figure, his grandmother. He obviously had parents but when he was five and when Aryll was one, they went on a two-week trip around the sea. They wrote to him, Aryll and granny every day until precisely a week into the trip. That night, the clock struck midnight and clouds stretched over the world, crying rain and sneezing wind for miles and miles. Giant waves attacked several islands. Factions of white horses ridden by bubbles charged at the shores, dragging people into the army of water. More importantly, they also licked as high as the ship his parents were on.

The next day, the ship was gone without a trace. They sent rescue divers to look for it underwater, but the ocean was so deep, they couldn't reach the bottom even after half an hour of swimming. This news affected Granny so much that she mentally shut down for almost a week. Link was upset too. As a child with Asperger Syndrome, little Link felt like he didn't have the right to be upset but instead, the right to help others get over it.

He took care of his baby sister in his grandmother's stead and he drew pictures for his granny. These were of his parents somehow making it out of the tragedy by doing stuff like being carried off of the burning ship by a flying human with a beak (who was inspired by the island's postman) or the ship sinking into a completely intact underwater kingdom. All his granny would do was take the drawing, look at it and then immediately place it onto the kitchen table. Within a week of drawings, his granny was feeling better, but she forbade them from ever swimming without her out of fear of losing more loved ones.

This meant that Link's swimming skills were… subpar at best. He once swam while Granny supervised and stayed afloat for a good 33 seconds before he sank and had to be rescued by the local grass cutter. You may think that this took place when he was still five or six. This was when he was eleven. A week ago, to be direct.

"Link?" Snapping back from his flashbacks of terror, Link jumped back as he saw a young woman in her early 20s carrying a pot full of water on her head. Water was splashing from the top and one particularly big hand of water came down and slapped the boy in the face, vapourising the last of his drowsiness.

"Link? Are you OK?" Asked the woman, a concerned tone in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm OK, ma'am." Shivered Link, still recoiling from the cold water that was accidentally spilled on him.

"Link, you can just call me Sue-Belle!" Laughed Sue-Belle. Link's syndrome also caused him to inadvertently refer to people older than him as 'Sir' or "Ma'am", no matter who they were. This made for a very uncomfortable time when a boy one year older than him visited the island.

"Oh, OK. I guess I was just caught up in the past."

The woman gave a sympathetic look and wobbled on, trying not to drop her water supply. That woman was one of the first to hear about the ship incident.

Link gave a weak smile as she went behind Orca and Sturgeon's house and out of site. Finally, he checked his wraparound balcony to check that his granny was there. She wasn't. Link went into his house to greet his mother figure.

* * *

As he went inside, Link heard singing. A familiar tune for a holiday of presents and celebration of a single person.

" **We wish you a merry Birthday, we wish you-"**

The voice stopped singing, before it laughed and said:

"Whoops! Wrong song!"

The voice had been singing 'Merry Christmas' by mistake. She cleared her throat and continued, but she sang 'Happy Birthday' instead. A much more… appropriate choice of music. Granny came waddling around the corner of the house. A brown parcel in her hands. The parcel had twelve candles pressed through the wrapping and they were burning with dancing sways.

Wait, what?

"Granny! You put the candles in a present by mistake!" Gasped Link, waving his arms around.

"I know, junior! Aren't they lovely? Oh! Oh, my goodness!" cried the old woman. The shock made her drop the parcel to the floor. Link watched as smoking candles rolled to a halt on the floor like a cup of pencils.

Granny was at that age where she was beginning to lose her sense. She would go to Beedle's Shop Ship for All Purpose Bait to feed the birds with and come back with ten boxes of Corn Flakes. She didn't even like Corn Flakes. At night, Link would overhear her saying "Oh, I'd better go and write to dear Charles" before wondering off into the kitchen and coming back with a spoon carousel. Charles was her husband who passed because of a terrible disease years ago, before writing to people was made popular. Before the flying postmen were even around. Every time Link witnessed this behaviour was when he was in bed. Considering she was all he had for a mother, it's understandable that he shed a few silent tears.

On a higher note, Granny climbed up the ladder and onto the second floor with a giant smile.

"Come on, Junior! Up here!"

Not about to be beaten by an old woman, Link bolted up the ladder and looked at the parcel. After it had candles stuck in it, Link could see the item was green through the peppered holes. His mind raced at what it could be:

 _ **1: A rare green seashell from the island of Seesik, which he has yet to prove exists**_

 _ **2: A giant leaf to be used as a parachute**_

 _ **3: A watermelon grown in a flat glass container so it grows into the shape of a folded set of clothes**_

 _ **4: Some leprechaun clothes (Which he was hoping it was not)**_

"Junior, Granny's got something for you to open!" Cooed Granny. She handed the parcel to her boy.

Like a cougar in pyjamas, Link ripped the wrapping off the prey present. What was underneath was… A set of green clothes. To be exact, a light green long sleeved shirt, a darker-but-still-light tunic that had no separate leg holes, a pair of white tights, a pair of brown boots, a dark belt with a gold, swirly buckle and the cherry on top of the mud shake, a long, floppy green hat. The boy felt that if he wore them in the water near some freezing island in the middle of winter, he would STILL be sweating at his brow. Link's face fell immediately. He then put his head up, grinning like a hoover salesman who is constantly at your door.

"Wow! A set of elf clothes! Wow! Wow! Wowee!"

"'Elf?' these are clothes said to have been worn by the Hero of Time!" Explained the grandma. She seemed amused at Link's mistake, but a bit disappointed at the same time. "You don't have to like them! This is just something for you to wear today! As tradition! Tomorrow, You can stuff them in the back of your cupboar-"

"No, no, no, no! They're great! They'll make me look like... I'm part... of… of a-" Link put his head down, unable to keep up the facade. "I'm sorry, Granny."

"Oh, it's all right, dear! Now put them on! Everyone will love seeing you in them!" The last two sentences were said very quickly and magisterially, which made Link jump. She never spoke this sternly usually.

"Probably not for the right reasons. The kids will keep taking the mickey and asking me where the 'pot of gold' lays!" Protested the boy. Grandma just gave that look every kid dreads. That look of "Ah, OK. If you say so." that your parents used to tempt you into going on a walk in the pouring rain.

Link was one of those kids who found that he would actually willingly do something if he was given a choice but would hate it if he was forced to do that same task involuntarily. Link hung his head and cleared his throat.

"...What? Oh! Sorry, Junior! I'll leave you to change in peace." Laughed his grandmother, going down the ladder and locking the front door in case Aryll came bursting in. She came back up just as Link clipped on his belt. Already, he had started to sweat.

"Oh! You look lovely! Just like the Hero of Time!" Crooned Granny, clasping her hands together.

"Was he the king's royal jester, then?" Giggled Link, prancing left and right like a drunken fool, calling in a hilariously forced Celtic accent.

" **And for my next trick, I shall produce a bouquet of flowers from my hat!** "

"Oh, you little rascal!" hooted the old lady. Link made his way out the door. "Now, go on! Go find your sister! I'm making your favourite sooooup!"


	2. Flying Postman

With his new gear, Link certainly was the talk of the town. The kids were giggling and pointing, Sue-Belle swung her head to look at him before she dropped her pot of water all over herself, Sturgeon spat his herbal tea all over his window when he caught a glimpse of Link's ridiculous outfit while wave-watching, a large woman named Rose almost ripped her pig catalogue in half as Link shuffled by and a grass-cutter let go of his scythe mid-swing when he got an eyefull, sending it helicoptering through the air. Link stopped speed-walking and started sprinting across the jetty to Aryll's lookout as the hooting crowd stopped at the ladder he climbed up before walking away, still laughing. The only people missing from the mob were Sue-Belle, Rose and Orca.

 _"The bloomin' 'Hero of Time?' I look like my clothes just saw a better set on a different person! They're flippin' green with envy!"_ Grumbled the boy's brain.

* * *

Link finished climbing the ladder and slumped on the floor at the top. The sound of his sister snapped him back up.

"AAAAH HA HA HA HA HAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAA! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU WEARING?"

Aryll thought his outfit looked funny as well, as she burst out laughing like a hyena. She was laughing so hard, she was beside herself. No, seriously. Link was so hot in his clothes that he started seeing double. He simply stood straight with his hands on his hips, looking as stern as he could but when you have giant cat eyes like Link, that is easier said than done.

"Are you done?" He asked politely.

There was a long beat that went on for a while. Aryll eventually broke the silence.

"Nope! AAAAAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA-"

I wouldn't be lying when I said this went on for five minutes but to save space, therefore, the wasted paper, therefore, the trees, therefore, the forests and therefore, the world, I will just cut straight to where something else happens.

"Finally!" Groaned Link. "You'll never believe this, Granny just said this is what the Hero of Time wore! I wish my birthday was in the winter!"

"Did this 'Hero of Time' wake up a bunch of kids and make them fly so they could fight pirates?" Giggled his sister.

"I'm gonna make you laugh even harder in a minute!"

"Oh, please do!"

Link smiled and narrowed his eyes. Using the power of 'Exact Words' was his speciality. Thank goodness he just used them for harmless pranks rather than maliciousness.

Instantly, Link grabbed his sister and tickled her gently. Being a brother, Link knew all his sister's weaknesses and tickling was probably the worst one. The girl burst into hooting laughter with no hesitation, sharply contorting and squirming to escape. "No fair! Stop! You know I'm ticklish"

The seagulls that surrounded the girl hissed at Link and spread their wings to intimidate the leprechaun in front of them as he let their friend and his sister go. When I said that everyone Aryll met adored her, I wasn't kidding, even seagulls. The seagulls all seemed to HATE her brother, though. Often, he would approach them with All-Purpose Bait and they would scream, fly over him and very deliberately defecate all over him until he looked like a snowman.

"S-s-s-sorry, birdies!" Link stuttered at the seagulls, who already looked like they were ready to aim and fire. "It was a prank! Just a joke, see?"

His sister brushed herself off, still chortling.

"A-a-as I was about to sa-a-a-ay.. I am go-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

The girl was barely coherent. She was REALLY ticklish, so Link pulled this trick a lot.

"I am going to show you my birthday present!"

She broke into another fit of chuckling.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands!"

Link did as he was told. He could hear her laughing and pulling something out of her pocket, something clicking and then he felt long metal in his hands. He opened his eyes and there lay his sister's telescope!

In shock, the boy nearly dropped the item to the floor. The kids were given two gifts on a past birthday. Link got a Picto Box to take photos with and Aryll received a telescope which she carried everywhere. This made her gift all the more surprising.

"I am going to let you use my telescope today!"

Link stared at his sister with eyes the size of a human head.

"Am I dreaming? You usually don't let me SEE this thing, let alone borrow it!"

"Well, yeah. Today is your birthday, though! Plus, you need something to take your mind off of those hot clothes!"

That certainly was a good way to do so. Link smiled at his sister, turned around and began surveying the island. From the high lookout, Link could see a whole lot that he couldn't on his own. The island wasn't even all that big but the telescope still made a difference. Since the island was being shown through a lens and not a screen, he could see in a lot higher quality than his Picto Box. It also zoomed in further. He could see his granny making some of his favourite soup through the window, Rose painting a giant pig on the side of her house, Sturgeon headbanging to music, the grass cutter getting lost in his grass, the flying postman landing in front of the postbox, Orca going to use the toi-

Wait, go back! Go back! Link zoomed the telescope back to the postbox. He loved watching the postman gliding through the air with his wings and landing at the postbox, leaving parallel lines where he skidded to a stop.

Mostly, the kids were interested by his look. He had white hair and dark shaded skin like a milky hot chocolate. He wore a robe, golden boots and had retractable wings exiting from his sleeves, similar to a cat's claws. A yellow beak replaced his nose. He was often completely silent and unresponsive when he did his rounds so neither Link nor Aryll went to ask him questions about his people.

This time, the postman held several wrapped gifts in his arms. He had to open the lid of the postbox to fit them in.

 _"Those must be more Birthday gifts!"_ Thought the boy.

The postman took one look at the sky and his jaw fell open. The rest of the presents clattered to the floor. He began jumping up and down, flapping his wings and yelling in a foreign language.

"¡AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! PÁJARO GIGANTE! ¡CADA UNO, ENTREN!"

Aryll looked at him from the distance.

"What is he saying, big brother?"

"'AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!' um… That's all I got." Replied the boy.

Aryll rolled her eyes. This eye roll caused her to notice that in the sky was a giant silhouette cutting through the air.

"BIG BROTHER! LINK! LOOK UP IN THE SKY!"

Link looked into the blue above and zoomed in on the black shadow. As he zoomed, he noticed something.

SOMETHING AWFUL.

 **SOMETHING THAT ALMOST MADE HIM SCREAM LIKE HE HAD DONE HIS BELT UP TOO TIGHT.**

 **IT. WAS. A. GIGANTIC. BIRD.**

With lines of golden feathers trailing from it's bum like sparks, the bird looked like it had just eaten a Catherine Wheel for breakfast. It also wore a silver mask and it had crimson and black feathers. Link surveyed the bird from all over with Aryll's telescope. Where was this bird going?

One of the bird's feet was closed and the other was open, as if it was holding something. Zooming in on that area revealed a shape being held in the bird's closed claw.

 _ **BOOOOM!**_

A rock hurtled past the bird. With no warning, another thunderous blast came from below.

 _ **BOOOOM!**_

Another rock went zooming past. Link moved the telescope south-east to see what was going on.

" _ **OH, MY GOODNESS!"**_

A pirate ship was cutting through the water like scissors through paper. On board, Link could see several burly men loading a cannon with a rock. A dirty, short teenager stood at the ready with a box of wicks and some matches.

"Gonzo, we need to fire more projectiles at once!" Ordered a muscly man with a blue, tatty shirt and a grey beard.

"But Senza, we'll break the cannon!" Gasped a big, strong bloke with a green shirt, a big nose and a red bandana.

"FORGET THE BLASTED CANNON! We can't let that eyesore of a bird get away!"

Looking a bit unsure, Gonzo loaded up the cannon with four rocks at once.

"FIRE!" Bellowed Gonzo, pointing a giant claymore at the bird.

 _ **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**_

Four rocks flew out of the cannon all at once like a set of reverse skydivers. They grouped together and flew towards the giant bird. Wondering what the screaming air was, the bird craned it's neck to look behind itself.

 _ **CRAAAAASH! "AWK!"**_

The bird recoiled as it was hit in the face with all four projectiles at once. It's mask absorbed the damage but not the force. The bird opened it's formerly closed claws as the shape fell through the air like a ragdoll.

"Big brother, follow that shape over there!"

Link kept the telescope focused on the person falling through the sky as it disappeared into the Forest of Fairies on top of the right island. It was brief, but Link was able to make out tanned skin, a tall hairdo and some leather clothes.

"Sis, you wait here!" Ordered the boy. "I'm going to get help so that guy can leave the island."

"But, brother, what if something happens?"

"Yeah, what if that bird comes back and begins turning our island upside down for his catch? Nothing good."

"But who is experienced enough in combat to help?"

Link's brain whirred with residents from his island. He made a checklist in his head and crossed off those who didn't fit.

ooo

X Aryll

X Granny

X Sue-Belle

X Abe

X Army of seagulls

X Rose

X Joel

X Zill

X Sturgeon

/ Orca

ooo

Before the boy could announce his decision, his legs had carried him to Orca's front door like a set of dodgy propellers. Link looked at the frankenhouse. The top was immaculate and made of a smooth wood while Orca's part of the house was made of bent, dirty metal like a shanty. This just showed how different the two were.

Link's head filled with thoughts. " _Will the old man help me? Is he busy? Is he still on the throne?"_ Swallowing his fears, Link started pounding on the metal door at such speed that it sounded like a machine gun.

"Orca? ORCA? Are you in there?"

 **THUMP! CRAAAAASH!**

" **BELT UP, YOU LOONY! THAT'S THE SECOND TIME TODAY YOU'VE KNOCKED EVERYTHING OFF THE SHELVES!"**

For a second, Link thought that Orca was shouting at him but when he recognised that it was just Sturgeon, he knocked on the door harder.

"Orca? Please! This is an emergency!"

A deep gasp came from the inside, followed by loud and fast footsteps. The old fighter pushed the door open, almost smacking Link in the face with it.

"An emergency? What is it? Who is it? Where are you?" The elder looked left and right, directly over the boy's head. To be fair, Link was quite short for his age.

"Um, down here… sir."

Orca looked down and let out a puff as he saw his embarrassing mistake.. He was a rather tall and slender man, so him not seeing Link was rather excusable, considering he was standing on a doorstep. Orca was so slender, you could see his rib lines. He did, however, have a large paunch that made him look like he'd eaten a whole watermelon.

"What is the emergency? It better not be that there's a pig running in your house again. **HA HA HA!** " The man laughed uproariously at the thought. Clearly, he did not believe that this was a true crisis.

Link beat down and swept his annoyance under the rug. "Well, there was this giant bird..."

"' **A GIANT BIRD?** Come in! It's not safe out here!" He ran back inside and before he could tell his mind otherwise, Link was standing in his house. Orca kicked a stool towards him from behind, which swept him clean on top of it.

"Sit down, m'lad!"

"I'm already sitting down, sir."

"Tell me more about what you saw!"

Link began to twiddle his thumbs anxiously. Two thoughts in his head wrestled each other.

'Tell the truth' scored a clean TKO against "Chicken Out", so Link told the man everything. How his sister lent him her telescope and he witnessed a giant bird drop a tough looking kid into the-

" _ **FOREST?**_ You're telling me that a giant bird got a face full of rock and dropped some kid from way high up into the forest?"

 _"Wow, now that I think about it, that really doesn't sound real."_ Thought the boy as he wrestled uncomfortably with what was about to happen. Orca did NOT seem convinced. He probably though that this was a prank or something.

"The world is a very bizarre place, laddie. Nothing here is off limits. Who knows? Maybe boats have ghosts. For that reason, I choose to believe your story."

Link regained some hope. He and Orca would go marching into the forest, they would save the lad and send him back to the ship and the bird wouldn't be coming back for-

" **HOWEVER,** " blasted the old man's voice. As Link was fantasising about the upcoming adventure, Orca's sudden shout nearly made him fall off his chair. "I will not be able to accompany you into the woods.

"What?" spluttered Link. "Woah, woah, woah. Record scratch, go back, go back, go back. YOU think that **I** can fight? That forest is crawling with beasties!"

"I started as a simple page like you. We all did, yet in my glory days, I could perform a technique that could knock over everything in a circle around me! That's not easy. Nowadays, I am simply too old." Orca limped to a cupboard and pulled out a slightly rusty sword. As if he was presenting it to the queen, he carried it across the room and dropped it onto his new pupil's lap. Link looked at the sword in amazement and then gave a quick glance out the window in case his grandmother was watching. She was uncomfortable seeing him around sharp objects.

"This was my great grandson's sword that he used to defend his ship from attackers back in the day." The man explained. "It's a little rusty, but I'm sure that I can train you to use it."

With no words, Link looked up at the greybeard. He was going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE if his granny walked in by mistake.

Orca went back to the cupboard and pulled a battered scarecrow.

"Let the training… begin!" Declared the teacher.

Link was sure that using a sword was really hard. His main worry was cutting himself with the blade but as he assaulted the scarecrow's tough, leather front, not once did he ever feel close to injuring himself. It was as if his ancestors were all top notch warriors. Every technique, he did perfectly.

" **YES!** That's the way! It's a smooth motion! You follow through with your sword!" instructed Orca as Link's new sword cut through a sandbag.

" **GOOD!** If your foe swings horizontally, jump over their attack and strike their exposed head! If they attack vertically, roll to their back and twirl into the air!" Orca laughed after teaching Link how to parry enemies.

" **I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'M SEEING!** It took me a year to master the Spin Attack! How do you do it so flawlessly?" the man could only gasp as he watched Link spin in a circle with no error or clumsiness, chopping a whole circle of logs in half.

" **STERLING!** Use your downwards momentum to make a more powerful slash!" concluded Orca, watching Link stab through a training dummy after leaping skyward and skewering it.

Link had gone through nearly all of Orca's techniques, but there was one more. The scarecrow was now covered in several more slashes from Link, all of which were much deeper than the others.

"The final technique I can teach you is the Surprise Finisher! Put your shield away to lower the enemies guard, then charge with your sword outstretched for a fatal stab. Finally you turn around, grip the handle with both hands and pull it over your head to remove your weapon!"

Link gulped. Not because of how difficult the attack is, but the fact that he may have to use a graphic attack like that in the forest. The boy closed his eyes, ran with his sword outstretched and stabbed the scarecrow as hard as he could. He turned around, put his right hand on his sword and pulled with all his might.

Suddenly, Link's sword came free. Unfortunately, so did the scarecrow. It shot out of the ground and hit the ceiling with a loud bang. Accompanying it was an all too familiar sound.

 **CRAAAAAAAASH!**

" **STOP THROWING YOUR CHEAP EQUIPMENT AT MY FLOOR! THAT'S THE THIRD SET OF POTS YOU'VE KNOCKED FROM MY SHELVES!** "

"Where does that nutcase get all of those awful pots from…?" mused Orca as he shook his head.

"Anyway, well done! You have passed your test with flying colours! Go show those monsters what for, my pupil!" The two faced each other and bowed. In the middle of their bows, two noises came from upstairs.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah! AAAARGH!" **BONNNNG!**

Sturgeon had tripped and toppled straight into a gong that he had confiscated from Orca because of his excessive use of it at night, making for a rather fitting interruption.

* * *

Link sprinted up the hill that winded up the left island's peak and to the rope bridge. Scrambling over a stile, he continued up and up and up until finally, he was on top of the world (Well, his island, at least) and was about to set foot onto the dangerous rope bridge that no one had crossed in months because of it's chance of snapping in half.

"Well, either I succeed and the bird doesn't come back or I turn back and the bird destroys the island."

With hesitation, the boy prepared for his first step onto the bridge...


	3. Trusty Rusty

Taking his first step onto the bridge, Link immediately retracted his foot just in case the board suddenly broke.

Nothing. He stopped carrying his sheathe and looked for a place to put it out of fear of dropping it. He needed a free hand to catch himself from a fall.

His side? No, everyone does that. He could easily trip over the sheathe.

His front? No, no. Why would that help? It would just make him look like his head was on backwards and be very inconvenient for him.

His back? Perfect! Easy running, convenient placement for him and perfectly unique!

With that decision out of the way, the boy pulled the sash from the sword's sheath and wrapped it around himself diagonally. He then attached the sheath to it and put his weapon into the holder. It worked like a charm. He hesitated as he was about to try again, but then a thought crossed his mind.

" _The Hero of Time started at this age… I bet he was brave."_

The boy took his second step to the same board. Third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth-

 **CRACK.**

A bone-chilling crack came from behind. Link glanced behind him, then took bigger and faster steps.

 **Creeeeaaaak!**

Now truly scared, he broke into a speedwalk. With every single sound that could be traced back to the bridge, he broke into the next step up from his last state of movement. Jogging, running, sprinting, dashing, charging, travelling-so-fast-that-you-go-back-in-time, every single one.

 **CRUNCH!**

Right at the end of the bridge, a board snapped and Link plunged through it like a coin through the floorboards. Letting out a stifled cry as he reached out for the next plank, the boy's hands just managed to hang on. Two problems, though: 1) This was delaying him from getting to the forest. If Granny looked out the window at this time, she would need to be hospitalised for fright and 2)… Do I really need to explain?

 **HE WAS HANGING SEVERAL DOZEN FEET IN THE AIR FROM AN UNCOMFORTABLE BOARD OF WOOD ABOVE A GIANT ROCK.**

The hanging lad briefly worried about being seen as he struggled to pull himself up against the nearly rotating plank. Rather eerily, Link appeared to have some help getting back up…

Since Link was a little high up, the wind was stronger than at sea level. This was to be expected, but what wasn't was that the wind seemed to climb upwards, boosting the boy back upwards onto the plank. Without even stopping to calm down, Link ran to the end and collapsed onto the grassy cliff on the other side.

"This is no time to rest! That bird might come back for a bite out of someone at any moment!" he declared. He hopped back up and sprinted into the tunnel leading through to the Forest of Fairies.

* * *

Tall trees and dirt lay before him. The green boy scooped up a handful of dirt and let it run through his fingers. It was very fine, like sand.

"HELLO?" called Link into the depths of the forest. Who knows? Maybe the boy that fell into the woods would know a thing or two about bashing big birds in the beak.

" _Maybe we could be friends."_ thought the boy.

His call for an answer must have been heard, because Link could hear rustling leaves getting closer and closer.

The boy yanked his sword out and pointed it in a way that made it easy to sheathe in case it was the kid from earlier. Suddenly, a black shape burst from the hedge.

" _ **WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"**_

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"**_

A pig came running out of the bushes like a dog. Upon seeing Link's sword, it began to cower. Noticing why, Link sheathed his weapon.

"Don't worry! I'm not here to hunt! Have you seen another guy around here? Dark skin, a tall haircut, boyish tattered pirate clothes and- oh, wait. You can't understand me, can you?"

This was another unique thing about Link. He would talk to animals as if they could understand him and he could apparently read their faces.

The pig frowned, as if trying to think. Finally, the expression stopped and changed to a rather sorry one.

"It's OK, you tried!" reassured the boy.

The pig snuffled at the green clothes that Link was wearing.

"You're right. Back down there, these clothes are baking! A while ago, I was worried about turning into a cake! Luckily, it's a bit cooler up here. Now, come on! Let's get you back across the suspension bridge so you can get into town!"

Before he could take the pig to safety, there was another loud rustling noise in the bushes.

 _Oh, yeah. I forgot about the boy,_ thought Link. But what ran out wasn't the boy, oh no, it wasn't.

 **IT WAS A MONSTER.**

It was a snarling, humanoid pig monster with washed-out blue skin. it's nose and the inside of its ears were an electric blue and it wore brown, tattered pirate clothes, a brown, wraparound bandana and ripped, brown shorts. These shorts were held up by a skull belt. Finally, it wore a yellow and pink butterfly necklace around its neck.

Wow, one of these things is **not** like the others! Anyway, the monster extended its claws like a cat and charged at the duo.

"You, stay behind me! I'll fight him off!" commanded Link. The pig stayed still, cowering. Link then remembered that it could not understand what he was saying so he moved to the right to get in front of the animal.

"Have at you, you... cat-pig? Cig? Pat?" spluttered Link as he held his sword at the charging monster. He wasn't exactly James Bond at spur-of-the-moment one-liners.

With several shouts, the two began fighting. Its claws were durable, and it used them as guards from Link's sword. Unfortunately, the boy's technique with a sword was lacking to say the least. Blocking with it was just fine, but he often used it like he was running with a javelin since his training session with Orca was only short and he had no supervision here. Secondly, he put a lot of wasted strength into missed attacks, tiring himself out quickly. If this kept up, he would be confounded by the monster's speed and finished off.

The boy found himself backed to a tree while the monster raised its offensive pressure. Howling effortfully thrice, it performed a one-two-three set of slashes, ending the third one with a stab. Luckily, Link ducked the last one. The monster's sharp claws zoomed overhead, burying into the wood behind him.

"Argh!" it crackled in surprise as Link rolled around it and leapt to his feet and performed a quick slash sideways. The sword travelled instantly through the beast and out through the other side while its eyes suddenly widened, and its mouth fell open like a broken nutcracker. Even Link cringed when he heard it sliding into halves and flopping to the floor.

He looked the sword over, noticing that it was now covered in blue blood. He simply picked up a leaf and gently cleaned the blade, trying not to look at it at the risk of hurling. He felt guilty, yet at the same time his heart was beating like techno at double the speed. He had never seen a monster, let alone fought one, let alone **killed** one. He hadn't even been hunting before.

"Good first battle, Trusty Rusty!" said Link before cringing. " _Oh, my goodness,"_ the boy thought. " _I just named my sword"._

"It's OK! The monster's gone now." he told the quivering pig behind him. They continued their search for the mysterious boy.

Fighting through stinging nettles, thistles and funny looking plants, the two finally came across a tall tree. Hanging by his torn shirt on one of the branches was…

"Yessss!" Link hissed under his breath as he pumped his fist. It was the boy!

" **HEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY** -mmmmmph!"

Link clapped his hand over his mouth. More rustling approached him and the pig from two different direction.

" _Oh, you idiot! You're dead, I'm dead, the pig's dead and that kid is dead!"_ groaned his brain as the rustling grew closer and closer. Link pulled out his sword in defence.

Two more monsters of the same kind as the last one pounced, their claws and teeth at the ready.

Before his brain could think of a solution, Link had held out his sword and spun like a spinning top just as Orca had taught him earlier. The beasties flew back through the air and simultaneously crashed into two different trees, sliding down like bugs on the windscreen of a car. The two rose up and snarled, shirts even more ripped, before they both attacked with a bit of a de-sync. They were not going to be caught like that again. Link slashed them as fast as he could, just managing to hit the second one before it could strike. The two monsters fell to the floor, completely unresponsive.

"It's safe now!" called the boy as quietly as he could to avoid more unwanted attention. The boy in the tree didn't move. Had he been hung by the branch?

Short answer: No, he hadn't. He opened one eye and noticed Link standing beneath him. Furthermore, he noticed that he was suspended several feet in the air. He started shouting and kicking like mad.

"Now, now. Don't move." He called up at the boy, cupping his hands to his mouth. "You'll make the branch sn-"

 **SNAP!**

The boy did a high-pitched scream as he crashed to the floor. Link suspended his giggles at his girly screaming and ran over to help but by the time he got there, the boy had leaped up into a standing position.

The pig, obviously scared by the loud crash, went running off back the way it came, squealing like mad.

" **WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK WEEKWEEKWEEKWEEKWEEKWEEKWEEKWEEKWEEK!"**

It's squealing got quieter and quieter until the pig vanished back outside.

"Oh, owwwww… Did I hit my head? I am now seeing an elf in front of me." he grumbled in a rather high voice. Now that he was on the ground, Link could see that he carried a cutlass in a waist sheathe, a pistol on the other side and sure enough, he had a beehive hairdo.

Link was now fed up of these ridiculous comparisons, so he tried to sound as cross as possible.

Key word: 'tried'.

"Ha ha ha(!) Oh, did I forget to laugh(!)"

The pirate boy shot him a look of pure daggers.

Link recoiled. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I just sav-"

but before he could reveal what had happened and why he should respect him, another set of rustling advanced through the bushes.

Link cut himself off and stepped in front of the new boy. "Stay back," he demanded. "I'll fight off this monster!"

* * *

With a crash and crack of twigs and branches, a big man in a green shirt and a red bandana came crashing through. With not enough time to sheathe his weapon, Link hid his sword behind his back, whistling nonchalantly.

" **MISS TETRAAAAAAAAAAAA!** " Shouted the man's somehow high AND deep voice. It was rather unfitting for his burly look. Does everyone on this crew have unfitting voices or really unfitting looks…

Wait, what?

"MISS Tetra?" echoed Link. "You're a GIRL?"

The boy- Sorry, GIRL, turned to look at him with a face of simultaneous embarrassment and anger. Link felt like all the bees would come out of her beehive hairdo and sting him until he was the size of Russia.

"So I look like a boy to you? Really?" she hissed. She spat the word 'Boy' out as if it were poisonous.

"Well, you have the clothes, the hair, all that stuff! And I never saw you up close like this!"

Tetra shot him another look. "Well, you're one to talk about clothes! You look like an elf! Are you trying to pass for the Hero of Time?"

"Oi!" Link retorted, "I'll have you know that, as a matter of fact, I am! I am twelve today, I have to wear this until tomorrow and I am baking into a cake! So if I were you, I'd shut your cake hole before you say something else insensitive!"

"Pirates don't eat cake, you ninny…" She shifted her attention to Gonzo, who was so out of breath that he had bent down to place his hands on his knees and pant like a dog.

"Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" the green-shirted man wheezed, "When I saw that bird drop you on this summit, I-"

"Now I remember! That bird just came and grabbed me right off the crow's nest of my ship!"

"Talk about irony." whispered Link a little too loudly, laughing a bit before clapping his hand over his mouth. This was a pirate he was making fun of. Never a good idea.

The girl put her hand on her cutlass as a warning and then let it go before resuming her talk.

"And what do you mean 'Summit'? Did this bird drop me on top of a mountain? Well, that wasn't very nice of it!"

Link opened his mouth to correct her, but Gonzo spoke up first.

"I asked a large woman with a black pig where we are earlier and she said this place is called 'Outset Island', Miss! This is the 'Forest of Fairies'. We are not on a mountain, luckily. Just a walk across a suspension bridge, down a hill and through the village. I got… SOOOOO many weird looks! I guess I stand out."

A large look of relief crossed Link's face. That pig from earlier was safe and Gonzo seemed to be doing a good job of calming the ungrateful pirate- Oh, wait. He hadn't told her that he saved her yet so calling her ungrateful is going a bit far. Link opened his mouth once more, only to be cut off by Tetra.

"Well, let's leave quickly! That bird will be back at any minute! He'll be turning this island upside down looking for me so let's draw it away!"

With that, the girl marched off through the bushes where Gonzo had come from. Gonzo looked at the boy and then back at the vanishing Tetra.

"But… What about this guy here?" Called Gonzo, still alternating. Tetra's voice came back through the bushes. "Forget about him! Just come back to the ship! We need to repay our debt back to that featherface in full!" Gonzo hesitated before he ran after her. "Wait for me!" He panted.

"Wooow. What a little snot!" grumbled Link. All his hard work of training with Orca, almost falling through a bridge and fighting off monsters and she hardly acknowledged that he existed, other than to make fun of his clothes. What an early hag! Then, he remembered that he was all alone.

With only a sword.

IN A WINDING FOREST.

 **WITH MONSTERS LIVING IN IT.**

"Hey, wait!"

With that, Link sprinted through the bushes, around corners and finally, out of the tunnel.

* * *

" _My sister will love hearing about this! Hardly anyone visits our island for some reason!"_ Thought the boy as he ran out the tunnel and ended up near the pirates. Tetra glared at him with suspicion.

"Why are you following me?"

Link coldly glared at her dark eyes. "Hey, I just so happen to live here! And I certainly don't live in there like some troll!"

"Hey, you boy! Do you know that girl over there?" shouted Gonzo above the now howling winds.

Link looked to the other side of the bridge, holding his hat on. He almost choked when he realised that it was-

"That's my sister! What is she doing out here?"

Aryll was standing on the other side of the bridge, her hair waving wildly as well as her hand.

"SIS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER HERE?" he called. The wind was so loud that he could not be heard.

Aryll began running across the bridge. She was clearly being effected by the wind but she seemed to be enjoying herself. She was laughing almost as hard as the 'Tickling Incident'.

"SIS! DON'T MOVE! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS"

Link began to run across the bridge to get to his sister, but behind him…

He heard screaming. Tetra had her pirate pistol out and was firing watery bullets at the sun while Gonzo was squealing like a girl, backing away and toppling over.

Link investigated the southern horizon. A black shape was flapping through the air towards the bridge. As it got bigger, he realised that the shape was no ordinary specimen.

 **IT. WAS. THE. GIANT. BIRD. FROM. EARLIER.**

It swooped towards the bridge, it's beak hanging open. It's sky blue mouth dazzled the boy as it got closer and closer at an alarming speed.

"SIS! RUN BACK! QUICKLY!"

Link turned and ran back to take cover from the bird. Aryll too had noticed the incoming colossus and turned to run back.

But it was too late.

The bird clamped its talons shut as it tore over the bridge. Its claws scratched one of the boards of wood, causing a chain reaction. All the wooden planks fell through the two ropes they were being held by. With several plops, they whacked the ocean below.

"SIS! ARYLL!"

Link ran to the edge and looked down at the falling planks, looking for his sister in the ocean. His eyes scanned the wood-littered sea. There was no sign of his sister anywhere.

…Could she have sank?

All of a sudden, a deafening scream rang back to Link.

" **BROTHER!** "

Link looked up just in time to see the foul fowl carrying his sister higher and higher. She was hanging sideways out of the bird's left talon, reaching out for him as far as she could as the bird kept going up and up and up. There was an almighty noise as factions of furious seagulls rose from the forest and the island in general to give chase to the kidnapper.

" **LET HER GO!** " In less than a flash, Link had drawn his sword and raced past Tetra, who tried to pull him back. He didn't care that the bird, and Aryll's cries and the seagull's livid caws, were getting smaller and smaller. His mind was a furious twister of every possible emotion that could be tied to anger. All he cared about was that his sister had been torn from him.

" **I'LL KILL YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!"**

Link was so consumed by concentration and fury that he had forgotten he had been standing on a cliff. He plunged through the air upside down before a hand clamped shut around his leg. "Ugh! You… silly… kid! You can't fly! She's gone, OK?" came Tetra's voice. The word 'gone' was said with much more empathy than the rest of the sentence. She too had dived off the edge to catch the falling boy. Gonzo had managed to catch her, but he, thankfully, had refrained from diving. The three of them were like a chain link.

Anyway, Link just hung upside down, watching the seagulls chase the bird into the horizon.

Until they were gone. He feebly reached a shaking hand out towards the retreating shape in the distance… There was nothing he could do…

* * *

On the way back to the village, Gonzo had pulled Link and Tetra back up onto the plateau. Link didn't say a word.

Next, they had to somehow get across the ropes. There were two pairs of two ropes per side, one a lot higher than the other.

Gonzo had gone first. He pulled the rope down for the other two and walked sideways across the rope like a crab. Link and Tetra sidestepped along after him, holding onto the upper rope. Link was not at all worried about falling this time. His mind was completely wiped after the events that had just happened. His brain had shut down just like Granny's had when his parents died. He felt the same way as her. That brings us back to the present.

The three of them slowly trudged down the mountain path and over the style. It was on its last legs anyway, but Gonzo managed to break it as he clambered heavily over it.

Link couldn't believe what he'd just seen. His mind was awash with various things that could have made him falsely see that. Maybe… killing that first monster in such a horrific way messed with his head?

As soon as they got to the fork where one way went to the village and the other led to the village, the boy broke from the group, sprinting down the jetty much more heavily than he usually would go.

"Hey, kid, stop!" Tetra called after him, "Where are you going now?"

He almost ran up the ladder without using his hands at all and he managed to knock several rungs out of place. He launched himself onto the lookout…

"Aryll!"

…only to meet an empty lookout. No seagulls… no favourite sister… silence, other than his hyperventilating.

"Aryll?"

He was an only child.

"Aryll…"

He sat against the pole in the middle, lowering his face into his knees. Below the ladder he heard Tetra and Gonzo rapidly talking to each other. Link couldn't make out what the full details of their conversation much, not that he cared much anyway. He did hear Gonzo rather authoritatively say the word "apologise" several times and Tetra repeatedly refuted him, but eventually there was the sound of feet pounding up the ladder.

Someone sat by him.

"Er…"

"Leave me alone." Link replied to Tetra's voice icily. He just wanted to be alone, not have an audience to witness him crying. He hated that.

"I've thought about what I caused by coming here… I'm sorry about what happened."

"'Sorry' is not going to bring my sister back!"

"Well, what is?" Tetra responded heavily, "Do you just expect me to… magic her back here?"

"No… I just want my sister back!"

"In that case… are you gonna come down?"

…

Link said nothing, creasing his face up to avoid audibly sobbing.

"All right… I see how it is." She got up, slowly climbing down the ladder back to the ground. "You know… she's probably still alive. She only got kidnapped. She isn't dead."

…

Stupid pirates… Stupid Tetra… _"And stupid, stupid, stupid Link!"_ Link thought, almost bashing his face against the pole in frustration. What on earth was that about? "Oh, she's only kidnapped!" Like that was much better! Maybe-

…

…

…Maybe she had a point. Aryll was not dead. At least for now. If he was going to find her before he'd have to rip her from the bird's stomach, he needed a fast way off the island…

"Hey, Tetra!" Link called, leaping up and running to the ladder, "Wait for me!"

* * *

"So, what should we do?" asked Gonzo. Link stood awkwardly outside the clustered group of pirates, not wanting to butt in and make them angry. "We can't just leave him there! My sister went out the same way!"

"But what can we do?" another big pirate rumbled. "Shall we go looking for her and bring her back here?

A small teenage member of the crew with freckles, messy hair, buck teeth, a red and white striped shirt and a blue bandana began hopping up and down with his hand up as if he knew the answer to a question in class.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I 'ave an idea! Pick me! Pick me!"

Tetra looked at him, shocked, before putting her head down and shaking it. She sighed loudly.

"An idea? From Niko? I'm almost afraid to ask, but… yes, Niko?"

"Yesssss!" hissed Niko as he punched the air triumphantly like his mother had just given him permission to go out at night. He took a deep breath and began speaking.

"I fink da boy should come wiv us!"

Tetra almost choked, as did the rest of the pirates except Gonzo, who just nodded in agreement. Link propped his head up, interested.

" _That isn't a bad idea, actually!"_ he thought.

"Blimey! What? We can continue on an' solve 'is problem at da same time! Nuff said!" Niko gave a big, nervous smile as all but two sets of eyes narrowed on him, those two belonging to Link and Gonzo.

" **NO WAY! ABSOLUTELY NOT!** What do we get from taking some little green sword swinger with us that can't hold a candle to a stinging nettle?" sneered Tetra.

"Oh, really?" Link stood up and drew his sword. "Watch this." With that, Link sprinted in a circle, picking up sand and throwing it into a pile until it was taller than himself. He patted it until it was all smooth and then he stood back. He took a deep breath and like a cat, pounced on the mound. All they could see and hear for a few seconds was a green blur and rapid slashing. After a moment, the boy stood in front of the pile of sand with his sword pointed down his back and halfway into his sheathe. The sand mount broke into pieces as Link let go of his sword and it fell into it's resting place.

 **CRAAAAAAAASH!**

The pirates were, for the most part, amazed. Gonzo began applauding and whistling (but he was on his own there, so it sounded pretty awkward), Niko's jaw dropped so much that he could fit a whole apple into his mouth. He too, began clapping wildly. Even Tetra looked a bit overwhelmed.

"See! Trusty Rusty here makes quick work of enemies! If we get-"

" **STOP!** Stop right there. What kind of weirdo names their weapons? Something tells me you won't last in our crew!"

" _Now she's just making excuses!"_ thought Link. He opened his mouth to protest, but Niko had his back… and accidentally cut him off.

"An amazin' weirdo, that's who! Rattle on, captain! He mawer van deserves it! It's a great name for a sword!"

Link wasn't sure what 'Rattle on' meant, but Niko was doing a great job of fighting for him.

A new voice with a heavily different accent than what Link was used to sounded from the pirate ship.

"The boy with the slang is correct." Everyone turned to the giant ship. On it stood the silhouette of a man.

"Hoi! What are you doing up there?" demanded Tetra, waving her fist. "I'll have you know that is my ship!"

The man responded by unfolding his arms and extending them sideways like… Wait… are those wings?


	4. Platforming Teachermate

The figure leaped off the prow of the pirate ship and spread his angel wings. He dove over the pirates heads before doing a loop the loop, landing and turning to face them. Link looked up at the figure.

It was the postman!

Link's ears pricked up. He had never even heard the postman speaking his language before, let alone defending him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Tetra, stepping forward. "What do you get from randomly coming into these conversations? It'll get you a black eye if you do it to the wrong person!"

"I get the opportunity to help a kid in need, that's what." replied the postman.

"Oh? Who might that be?" Tetra leaned forward, waiting for an answer.

"What? Seriously? You don't even recognise the guy who saved your life back in the forest?" snapped the postman. Even Link recoiled at this. He had never heard the postman express anything other than concentration, let alone anger.

"WHAT?" came a chorus of voices from several pirates. A short pirate with cracked glasses was taking a sip of a frothy liquid and nearly spat it all over Gonzo. Speaking of Gonzo, he just bent over to Tetra's level and quickly said "That's what he and I was trying to tell you!"

"Yeah!" Link shouted in agreement, running over. "There were these little… goblins over in the forest, but the nice man in that house over there gave me this sword so I could fight them off! I saved not only a little pig, but-"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" shouted Tetra, advancing on him intimidatingly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, listen to me! I not only saved a pig, but you as well! He's right over there!" Link quickly pointed off to Rose's house. Sure enough, a little black pig was in the pen just outside her house.

"Oh." Tetra loudly cleared her throat and turned red. "Sorry."

"He's absolutely right. I was flying back over when I saw him with a pig fighting off monsters! I have proof! Look!" With that, the postman yanked out a piece of paper and showed it to the pirates.

"Lemme see that!" ordered Tetra as she walked to the postman to inspect the paper.

On the paper was a birds eye view of the forest. Amongst the green shrubbery and the tops of the trees, Link was just about visible fighting a monster.

"What? All I see is some weird blue guy and some random blonde spot floating about!"

"That's the third time you've made fun of my clothes! Yes, they're green! So what?"

"Oh… That's you… Sorry, **that** one was an accident." said Tetra. Truthfully, this time.

"Let me be the judge of that!" Link barged through the crowd of pirates and examined the photo. In fairness to the girl, he did literally look like a floating tuft of hair because of the quality and positioning of the picture.

"I DID take this photo from high up when I was going VERY fast, so it's an understandable mistake." assured the postman, putting the photo away.

Link gave a small sigh. "OK, I forgive you, miss."

"That means that you pirates are far in his debt." continued the postman.

"And all you have to do to get out of it is help me get to where my sister is so I can save her!"

"But still, what if that bird catches your scent and sinks our ship looking for you?"

Link threw his hands in the air. Seriously? More convincing? _"Every single time she comes close to redeeming herself, she says something stupid like that and messes it all up!"_ fumed his brain. Still, his vocal response kept cool.

"With respect, ma'am, that bird probably has a better scent of you than it does of me."

Tetra's eyes widened as all of her crew looked at her. Tetra looked about, shamefully. The boy was right and she knew it.

"Lor' luv a duck! 'e's right!" shouted Niko. A bit redundant now that I've said it, but never mind.

Tetra looked back to Link. "OK, but what's your plan? Just… tag along with us until we find the bird?"

Link's face fell immediately. He had not considered that. What could he do that would make him less of a burden?

"That would not be necessary!" The postman advanced on the group. "As a man who travels the sea a lot to deliver, I have heard a lot of rumours. One is that the bird that took this boy's sister only captures girls with long ears. Look at yours, miss fearsome pirate."

Tetra flicked at her ears. Just like Link's, just like Aryll's, they were long and pointed. _"That's why it tried to grab me!"_ thought the girl in amazement.

"Furthermore, the bird apparently is only imprisoning it's prey, not eating it. Someone on an island far north of here apparently got a letter from his kidnapped daughter. The return address was a place to the far northwest of here called the Forsaken Fortress."

" **THE FORSAKEN FORTRESS?** "echoed the crew as well as Link, the pirates out of horror and Link out of curiosity.

"Do you **WANT** us to sink?" accused Tetra. Link had no idea what this 'Forsaken Fortress' was, but given the pirates reactions, he didn't want to go any time soon. Wait, what am I saying? I'll end up accidentally changing his mind at this point! I'll just keep on with the story. The postman kept his cool.

"Look, I won't force you, but if… if… Your name, please?" The postman turned his red eyes to Link.

"Link… Sir."

"Well, if Link's sister never comes back, just know that if you had helped him out, this all could have turned out much better."

Tetra was now stuck in deep thought. The other pirates as well as Link stared at her in suspense as to whether she would give in or not. Everyone was feeling the same thing as you do when you're watching a gameshow and your favourite contestant is on the final question.

"Fine. It's a yes from me."

Link's face lit up with hope. So did the postman. Her crew all sighed not with exasperation, but with relief. Niko hopped up and down chanting "Yes! She did it, she did it, she did it, she did it..."

" **ON ONE SIMPLE CONDITION!** "

Everyone including the postman jumped at this. Tetra pointed to Link.

"You need to go and get yourself a shield! You need a high enough positive score to be on our ship and a shield should just about push you over the boundary!" she announced.

* * *

Link looked at the girl's weapon. She only had a cutlass.

"With respect, you just have a cutlass and some of your crew have no weapons at all."

Believe it or not, Tetra did not get angry, nor did she revoke her decision, nor did she even raise her voice. It was as if she thought that was a fair point.

"I'm this ship's captain! Anyway, I have a pistol with me too, so I would fit in even if I was a regular crew member!"

Tetra whipped out her pistol and fired a blank into the air.

 **BANG!**

"Gonzo has brawn and a giant sword,"

Gonzo posed, flexing his muscles and then he pointed his sword into the air like a park statue.

"Senza has brains AND brawn."

Senza flexed and then got into a thinking pose, all in sync with Tetra's words.

"I heard that!" confirmed Gonzo. He glared at Senza.

"Nudge here is the ABSOLUTE strongest pirate here. That alone gives him enough points!"

Nudge, a lanky, large pirate in a yellow bandana and a somewhat thin face groaned as he bulged his biceps to their max. They were almost as giant as his body.

"Mako is the absolute brainiest here! That gives him enough points as well!"

Mako, the short pirate from earlier with a pair of glasses that had one cracked lens, recited a ridiculously long maths problem before Tetra cut him off.

"Thank you for that, Mako," she bent down to whisper to Link. "That question takes a day to say!"

"Next up is Zuko! He has amazing eyesight and is very good with heights! He stays on the crow's nest!"

Zuko whipped out a telescope and looked around with it before striking a pose.

"Finally… We have Niko. He's… He's… Uuuuummmmm..."

Niko gave a quick look of aggravation and offence before speaking for her.

"I'm da platfawmin' teacher, mate!" he answered in a way that implied it was obvious.

"Yeah! Yeah! He's the 'platforming teachermate'!" echoed Tetra.

Niko rolled his eyes and marched over to Link.

"Butcher's hook, mate, I am da platfawming teacher. I give people lessons about jumpin' across platfawms! In fact, why don't I give yer a few lessons once we're on de ocean?"

"Yes, good idea, Niko." sighed Little Miss Sigh.

"OK, point made. I shall go and get a shield. And I know the perfect one!" announced Link. It was tradition on his island to hang a family shield from an ancestor on the wall of your house. With an explanation, he was sure Granny would let him use it.

Link turned to leave, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah!"

Link jumped and whirled around. It was just the postman. He had kept quiet for so long, the boy had forgotten he was there. Behind him, he could see the pirates grinning in amusement. Even the postie was trying to hide a little smile.

" _Please say that didn't count against me."_ pleaded his brain.

"Comic relief! 15 points! You need 65 more to join!"

The postman began to speak to Link.

"Link, I just need to tell you to take care on your travels. The Forsaken Fortress is nothing to laugh at. It is very dangerous. Take this card of mine if you need me. Name's Quill, like what you used to write with a while ago. If I'm not on my rounds, you should find me on Dragon Roost Island."

The postman started to turn to fly away, but now that he was a known nice guy, Link felt the need to ask more about him.

"If I may..."

"Yes?"

"What's the name of your… kind of people?" asked the boy. Quill smiled wide with surprise.

"Why, we are the Rito! Were you interested? You should have just asked whenever I popped down here to deliver all those times." Quill seemed very surprised that Link had never asked despite his fascination. The boy just cringed a little at this realisation.

"Sorry, it's just that I always thought that I would interrupt your rounds and there might be important stuff for you deliver.

Quill reached forward and ruffled Link's hair, accidentally styling it into a short quiff. _"I think I'll keep this hairstyle. It suits me!"_ he thought. "That is very thoughtful of you, young man. I suppose I am a bit… stake? Stone?"

"Stoic?"

"Ah, yes. That's the word. As I was trying to say, I am a bit stoic during my rounds because I'm worried I'll mess my words up and say something wrong. I do speak a different language after all."

Link half-shut one of his eyes in confusion after hearing this. _"What?"_ he thought.

"Sir, I think you speak perfect English. Back there, you spoke like a native. I barely realised you had a different accent! You just need to learn the meanings of harder words but I was fluent before I knew what 'stoic' meant!" assured the boy, a giant smile crossed his face. It was almost creepy, but it was sincere.

"Wait till I go back to the people at the bar and tell them that someone said I speak perfect English! They'll drop their pints!" said the postman with a hint of mischief before he sprouted his wings and began beating them. He rose into the air before he started flapping faster and zooming off into the distance with a shout of "¡AL CIELO!". Soon, he had become a dot on the horizon.

 _My sis will love hearing about the kind postie!"_ thought Link before he looked down and sighed. Aryll wasn't here. "I have to save her!" he declared as he took his sword's sheathe from his back and began sprinting to Granny's house with his sheathed weapon in hand. If he was going to tell Granny, he had to show that he could defend himself immediately and unless he ran backwards, she was not going to realise quickly enough.

* * *

Link puffed and panted as he sprinted to his cottage. The lights were off in the room. _"Did Granny forget to turn them on?"_ thought the boy as he got closer and closer. He leaped over the hedge and ran to his door when suddenly…

"Where have you been?"

Granny shot in front of him with no warning. The old lady hardly even walked at a normal speed but here, she just sidestepped into view immediately. Link jumped back.

"What are you doing with that?" demanded Granny, pointing at Link's sword.

"Calm down, Granny. Calm down. I can explain everything." With that, he and Granny headed indoors.

Granny had forgotten about Link being sent to get his sister. so the poor dear was alone for an hour without knowing where Link or Aryll had gone. She had also evidently forgotten about the tea she had made for herself several times, as 12 cups of cold tea lay in a line on the kitchen counter.

"Well, this isn't going to be easy," began Link, his voice breaking at 'easy', "but here's what happened."

In minutes, Link had spilled the whole story. Grandma's mouth was agape with shock. Her brain was almost shut down like the last time she lost a loved one. She then began to cry. Tears slid down her wrinkly face and her whole body was convulsing madly. Link had never ever seen her crying before. Not even when his parents had died. The sight was incredibly jarring.

"Listen, Granny, I'm going to go and save her! The postman said that she might be just fine at the moment! That bird takes pointy eared girls to a fortress in the northwest somewhere! I'm going there with a bunch of pirates! She'll be just fine!" assured Link, holding his Granny's hand in his. "The thing is, I came here to get a shield so I can go with them fully prepared."

"A shield? Wait. I'll go and get one." she announced. She headed up to the first floor and came back down with a board of wood in her arm. This board of wood was outlined by metal and adorned with a silver carving of a bird holding up a golden Sierpinski Triangle.

"Junior, this shield belonged to my mother. For months, it has hung on the wall up the ladder, but now I want you to use it." She pushed the shield into the boy's hands.

Link was beginning to have second thoughts about this. This shield seemed very old and important to the family.

"Are you sure, Gran? What if this breaks? It seems like this means a lot to you."

"Oh, don't you worry, Junior! If this shield comes back beaten up, that just means that it did a good job protecting you!" said Granny, popping a Murray Mint into her mouth.

"OK, bye! Don't forget to take your medicine!" Link turned to head out the door, but Granny's voice stopped him.

"Junior?"

Link stopped and turned. _"Please don't have forgotten already!"_ begged his mind. He didn't want to make her sad again.

"I just remembered. There is something for your travels that I hid under the house this morning. I was going to give it to you earlier, but I forgot."

"Oh, erm… OK! How do I get under?"

"To the right on the way out, you should find a small opening under the porch. Just crawl through it into a little cave and then you should find a trunk!"

Link couldn't believe his ears! He didn't know there was a secret tunnel under his house! If he knew earlier, he would have been the **KING** of hide-and-seek!

"Bye, Granny! I'll see you later with my sister!" He gave his grandmother a big hug which lasted about three seconds, before he headed for the exit.

"Don't hurry! Take your time! This kind of work needs a lot of planning!"

With that, the boy opened the door and went into the light outside.

Then he was gone.

* * *

Link did as Granny had told him. He headed out the door, to the right and sure enough, a gap went under his wraparound porch and to the left. He got down on his stomach and scurried through the opening. He turned left around the wraparound part of the porch and, just as what was said, a little tunnel was open in front of him.

 _"How did she get under there?"_ wondered Link as he crawled through the opening. Inside lay a small cavern with a treasure chest in the middle. The place was still pretty damp from the time Granny had run a bath and forgot about it for three hours. Link approached and opened the chest. Inside was a giant orange rupee, which was worth 100 green rupees.

Now, for all of you who don't know, this set of islands uses a currency called Rupees. The various colours indicate different values, with green being worth only one. Blue was worth five, yellow was worth ten, purple was worth fifty, orange was worth one hundred and silver was worth two hundred. We all up to speed? Good, let's continue.

Link, with a smile, slipped the money into his bag. "Thank you, Granny!" he called up through the wooden floor of the house.

…

…

…

No response.

Link headed out of the bottom of his house and stood back up. Dusting the cobwebs off his clothes, Link headed to a blue shopping boat near the shore.

"You ready yet?" called Tetra. Link looked at the crew of pirates, who seemed itching to go.

"No, not yet. I need to shop for some supplies." The boy continued to head to the little blue boat.

"Resourcefulness! Good!" Tetra shot a thumbs up.

 _"You know, maybe she isn't that bad after all."_ thought the boy. He waded into the water, onto the boat and into the shop. Inside was the shopkeeper, Beedle, and various wares. Several decorations hung from the ceiling.

"OOOOOOOOOOOH! Hello, young man!" boomed the shopkeeper's loud voice. His smile and personality was almost as bright as the confectionery he sold. "What can I do for you today?"

All the kids loved going to see the man. Often, not even for what he sold. The kids would all gather around as Beedle showed off his live beetles and the kids didn't even get scared. Examples of his most prized beetles include:

* * *

 _ **The atlas beetle. A rare specimen known for being able to toss a globe into the air.**_

 _ **The diving beetle, known for pretending to be hurt while playing sports.**_

 _ **The drone beetle. Flies in the air to survey for possible dangers. There was once a concern that they were being used to spy on people.**_

 _ **The dung beetle. Beedle had to splurge on a smell-proof cage for this one.**_

 _ **The dynastid beetle. A warrior known for having ranged attacks to plow through masses of really incompetent bad guys at once.**_

 _ **The elephant beetle. Beedle couldn't keep one in his boat because it wouldn't fit, but he would show the kids a photo of him riding on it's back. You need a magnifying glass to see him in that photo.**_

 _ **The fruit beetle. Want to know what's worse than finding one in your apple? Finding half of one in your apple.**_

 _ **The Goliath beetle. Often got into fights with the David beetle.**_

 _ **The Hercules beetle. It once tapped the back of Beedle's boat and sent it on what was meant to be a five hour trip in just a few minutes.**_

 _ **The jewel beetle. Always check the box of your engagement ring before you push a bug onto her finger.**_

 _ **The longhorn beetle. It's horn allegedly grows when it needs to flip another male into submission.**_

 _ **The saw stag beetle. Especially good for logging. It also saw you first…! OK, that was bad.**_

 _ **The scarab beetle. The jar it were kept in was almost black with scarabs when the one in there gave birth.**_

 _ **The tiger beetle. A master of Kung Fu, for some reason.**_

 _ **Finally, the Violin Beetle. Plays the violin for the kids as they come in.**_

* * *

With that out the way, back to the story!

"Hi… Beedle. I'm looking for… some provisions."

Beedle noticed the sad look on the boy's face. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, no, no. I'm just going out on an… excursion. I need to buy some supplies." replied Link quickly. As nice as the newsagent was, he didn't want to tell him at the risk of upsetting him.

"Look, sonny, I know when something is wrong with another person. I had kids of my own a while ago and I know that look very well. You can tell me. I'll listen."

So for the fourth time that day, Link told the story of what had happened and how it all ended with his sister being abducted by-

" **A GIANT BIRD!?"** gasped the man in shock. The news made him want to sit down. Unfortunately, the only thing close to a seat was a cardboard box full of crisps so when the storekeeper sank down it burst, sending crisps fluttering through the air like snowflakes.

"My goodness! That is a story and a half! Don't worry, I believe you! Look!"

Beedle began scouring through his newspaper shelves, reading headlines aloud.

"Bath Bomb Causes Blue Bottoms, Man Put Letters In The Dog Bag Box For Two Years, Attorney Accidentally Sues Himself, Giant Bird Sighted… AHA!"

The man span around with a newspaper in hand. Link looked at the headline.

" **Giant Bird Sighted Over Spectacle Island.** ", screamed the paper. Link took a good long look at the low-quality image. Sure enough, the giant bird was flying in the sky over an island.

"That's the bird all right, and it apparently took my sister to a fortress. I'm gonna go over there with the pirates outside and get her back!" announced Link, straightening his hat.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, young man. I have a special sale that might help you on your quest! Multiple, in fact!"

Link's ears pricked up. This sounded good!

"Ten rolls of toilet paper for the price of nine, thirty boxes of Corn Flakes for the price of twenty nine..."


	5. Half Hour Shower

Link had bought all of his supplies from the kindly shopkeeper including food and drink and kept them in a bum bag tied around his waist. As he left the boat, he headed back to shore and a familiar woman was waiting for him. She was rather large, wore a pink dress, had blonde, styled hair and was carrying a pig under her arm.

"Oh, hello, young man! Are these rumours I am hearing about you true?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh… yes… well..." Link really didn't want to explain the story for a fifth time, but he felt that this woman had the right to know why he was leaving with a group of pirates. "Well..."

"Oh, amazing! If it weren't for you, this pig would have never have found it's way to this village!" squealed the woman.

Oh… OK. Even I thought this was going a different way. Sorry!

"I am so happy that this little man came all the way to my pen! The kids will be so happy when they get home! Here, young man! You've earned it!"

With that, the woman rummaged in her pocket before hauling out a large, purple gem and dropping it into Link's hand. This purple rupee was worth 50 rupees.

"Oh, cool! Thank you, miss! Now I must go and-"

"Find your sister. Don't worry! We all heard about it. I am very sorry about your loss." said the woman. She pointed to a tree in the distance. "We have organised a search party who will travel the sea, find civilised islands and put up posters for her. This should have her found in no time! Look, we've already started here!" On that tree was a poster for Aryll, including her name, age, last appearance, direction taken and captor description. Finally, "made by Rose" was written on the bottom, with a picture of the woman that was talking to Link.

"Oh, that's… really nice of you... Rose!" Within moments, Link was almost choking up. He turned and headed to the pirate ship. He felt very sad that he was leaving his home, but pumped at the same time. Neither he or his sister had been on even a raft before, let alone a pirate ship.

"I'm ready."

"With that old thing? Are you sure about this? It looks pretty old. Do you think you'll get splinters and cry?" jeered Tetra mockingly.

Link turned red and took a deep breath. _"I will not let her push me around like this."_ he thought to himself.

Link and the crew all climbed the rigging onto the ship and soon enough, Link was standing on the back of the boat, looking at the waving villagers.

* * *

 **CRAAAASH!**

Behind him, Senza was hitting a gong with a beater. The sails unfolded and slowly, the ship began to rock away from the island.

"Good luck, Link!" called an unidentified villager.

"Good luck finding your sister! Seriously!" Called Rose. Even Beedle had gotten out of his boat to send off the lad.

"If you ever feel homesick, I'll be travelling around the sea so pop in if you need something! I'm sure to have special deals on!" he bellowed.

"Will do!" replied Link.

"Ugh." groaned Tetra as she watched the sappy scene play out from the side.

A little spot of red gown and gray hair trotted out from Link's house and waddled to the wraparound porch. It was his grandmother. _"_ _Oh, no!"_ thought the boy. He had forgot to remind her of something!

Link pushed past a rope to get to the thin back of the ship.

" **DON'T FORGET TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE, GRANNY!** " he bellowed at the top of his lungs. Tears lanced through his eyes. He was leaving his island and wasn't coming back for possibly months. Tetra rolled her eyes.

"Really? How long is this going to go on for, ham and cheese? A month?" she huffed impatiently. Link turned and looked at her in disbelief.

 _"_ _She's done it again! Stop redeeming yourself and then messing it up!"_ boiled his brain.

"There's still time, you know? We could just turn around and take you back to your island. This is your last chance!" As if considering it, Link turned and watched his island disappear into the distance.

"Good resistance! 20 points!" proclaimed Tetra. Link's jaw dropped with a look of complete exasperation.

" _All these tests are doing my nut in! And I've only done one!"_ he thought.

* * *

The boat had finally reached the open sea. Gonzo hurled the wheel left and right to steer. Link could see little islands passing by and-

"Right, you. Go down into the ship to see Niko."

Link jumped. He was so amazed by the surroundings that he had forgotten that Tetra was there.

"What? Whatever for?" spluttered the boy, almost backing off the edge.

"Have you forgotten already? I allowed him to teach you about platforming!"

"Oh… That…" In all honesty, Link had thought that Tetra was just trying to shut Niko up when she had approved of his lessons.

"He should be through that door. It should be night time when we arrive, so it should kill some time."

 **THAT** was an appetising proposition. If it was going to take that long, Link needed to kill as much time as possible.

"OK, I'm off! Thank you!"

Link wondered across the deck in amazement. Gonzo was whirling the wheel left and right, Senza continued smashing the gong, Mako was reading the coordinates and giving very specific instructions for the course and Zuko was up on the crow's nest, spinning in circles with his telescope pressed to his eye. Only two were missing: The strongest pirate from earlier and Niko. Tetra was booming orders to the crew. _"_ _I can see why she's captain, at least!"_ thought Link.

Link headed through the door that lead to the inside of the boat and was even more impressed. Each pirate had their own cabin. The strongest pirate, Nudge, was the only one who had his door closed and locked. Running water was heard in conjunction with off key singing.

" **WHAT DO WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR, WHAT DO WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR...** "

" _I'd better leave him to shower in peace."_ thought the boy, hastily walking further and further down the ship. "Niko?" he called. "Where are you?"

There was a bit of a pause before Niko's voice echoed up the corridor.

"I'm down de apples an' pears!"

Link had a quick think about what this could mean. "Apples and pears?" he echoed.

"Yes. Apples and pears, stairs! It 'as to rhyme!"

Suddenly it clicked. Whatever slang this was just had to rhyme with it's meaning!

"Ah, that makes sense. Okay, down the stairs." Link turned right and headed down a set of stairs. He ended up in a room covered in swinging candles attached onto ropes. It entered into a platform, but the rest of the room was much lower down. The familiar face of Niko was also there, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

"Here ye are!" stuttered Niko. Now that Link was not fighting to be on the ship, he realised that Niko's breath STANK of fish. Link coughed and spluttered.

"Yer ready for yer lesson?" asked Niko, anticipating a positive response.

"What do I have to do?" From the way this was said, Niko could tell that Link was very nervous about this 'training'. What did it involve? Bungee jumping? Skydiving, being fired out a cannon? It would be a miracle to be able to do all of that in the belly of a ship.

"Yer right ter be nervous, lad! This an' allk me donkeys to complete an' that was wiv trainin'!"

Link frowned, confused. "Donkeys?"

Niko frowned in the same way, as if it were obvious. "Donkey's ears, years."

"How am I meant to know that if you don't say 'years'?" Link was running out of patience fast.

"Well, I keep forge'in' ye don't use rhymin' slang. 's meant ta be used with people 'oo know it, but I can't stop!"

Link gave a sigh.

"Okay, can we start the training?"

With a knowing smile, Niko pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button. Several platforms spiraled out of the ground and stopped in a pattern.

"'ere it is!" Within seconds, Niko had jumped onto the first platform. He made a flying leap to one of the ropes hanging from the ceiling and then landed on the next. He jumped and swung like a monkey until he was at the doorway on the other side.

"See 'at? It should take ya a donkey's ear until yer able ter reach de uvver side of… Wai' a minute, where's 'e gone?" Niko looked around the room, bewildered. "Has da boy dun a runner?"

Mere seconds later, Link landed on the platform after him. The pirate's jaw dropped so wide that he looked like a statue off a totem pole. "Wha- I- Yer- Yer- WOT?"

"That took you years?" Link said incredulously. The whole thing was so easy that he was genuinely surprised.

"Well that didn't kill any time at all!" huffed Niko. "What else can we do that will pass the time until we're there?"

Link frowned and began to think. What could kill time for them? He didn't think of anything good but he thought of something:

"I have an idea! I never read Kill's card!"

Niko looked at him as if he had just asked 'Where's the stairs?' in a hotel.

"'Kill?"

"Yeah, that postman from earlier. He gave me a little card if I ever needed to see him or his people."

Link opened his bum bag and pulled out the postman's card. " **QUILL,"** screamed giant letters on the front. Link looked upwards with his mouth open in the "Oooh, right" kind of way.

"Captain hook, mate! Ye can unfold i' at da back!"

Link turned the card around and noticed that the pirate was right. He unfolded it. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again- OK, you get the picture. By the time Link was done, he couldn't even see Niko and he had to stretch his arms out as much as possible to hold the map. He studied the now massive card. On it was a map of a sea chart. Suddenly, Niko's voice came from behind the card.

"Sie… nekesihta… ayooda…" he mumbled. "Worronearthizis?" spluttered the pirate, referring to "Si necesitas ayuda del Orni, ve a Isla del Dragón."

"You're reading their language. This side says 'If you need help from the Rito, go to Dragon Roost Island.'"

Link scanned the map. One of the islands in the northeast was circled in red. "I bet that's it." said the boy. "Now we just have to figure out how to fold this thing back up!"

It took the boys about thirty minutes to fold the map back into the tiny card it used to be. Link finally folded the last piece and slipped it back in his bag. Both of them gasped in relief. A loud banging noise from above shook them back to reality.

"Link? Are you down there? Come on, we've reached the Forsaken Fortress!"

What on earth? I've only been writing for half an hour! Were they early or something?

"Is it… night already? We left at about 1 o'clock!" shouted Link, trying to be heard through the floor.

"Yes, it is! I'll explain in a minute."

Uh- I- they- he- she- WHAT? How am I confused at this?

Link and Niko exchanged confused glances as well. "Well, new boy," began Niko. "I forgot to gi' ya… yer prize ...fa completin' da challenge... a year early." With each ellipsis, Niko sounded more and more bewildered before going into full motormouth mode.

"Darnithowdid'edodatsofast?!"

The pirate took out a purple bag with a ghostly face design on the front.

"Dis is for yer to keep ya loot in, garden gate!"

"Garden gate… rhymes with… mate?"

"Yer gettin' it!"

Link was very surprised with his new friend. No one had called him that before. The only people on the island close to his age were several years younger than him. The others were all adults. "Bye then!" he said cheerily as he turned to leave.

"Oh, watch out for de-"

" **AAAAAARGH!** " **CRAAAAAAAAAASH!**

"giant gap in de middle of de room… too late." Niko couldn't help but laugh at the boy missing the fact that more than three quarters of the floor was lower down. Link had gotten so caught up with the fact that night had fallen so quickly that he wasn't thinking straight. Rather embarrassed, Link picked himself up, walked to the other side of the room and climbed the ladder on the other side. Link headed past all the cabins without even realising because of his curiosity onto how it got dark so fast. That is, until he passed Nudge's cabin.

" **SHAVE HIS BELLY WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, SHAVE HIS BELLY WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, SHAVE HIS-** "

His off key singing and the sound of running water still echoed from inside. Link walked a bit faster. _"It'll be a miracle if this ship has any more hot water by tomorrow!"_ thought the boy.

" **SHAVE HIS- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Link could not tell if that was meant to be a high note or a scream, but the running water stopped and Nudge poked his head outside his door, wearing only a towel and some slippers, waving a back scrubber.

"Hoi! Where did all the hot water go?"

It was a scream.

* * *

Stifling his laughter from the 'Cold Water Incident', Link headed back onto the deck. True to Tetra's word, it was night time. The stars danced in the sky and the moon torched the world. Speaking of the world:

"What in the world?" whispered Link as he wondered around the ship. Above him came a shout.

"Heeeeey, here I am! Up here!"

The voice was coming from the crow's nest. Link located the ladder and climbed up to the top. The ship had stopped behind a giant rock with only the crow's nest peeking over. Link finally reached the top and got his first good look at the fortress. It looked like somewhere out of one of those movies with REALLY exaggerated animation that makes you think that the animators were hyper during work hours. There was a big stone wall surrounding the place with searchlights scouring the surrounding seas and inside the walls. In the middle, a tall structure snaked into the air. It looked like a concrete tree, complete with branches. One of the taller branches held a shipwreck and another held, fittingly, a giant bird nest. On the others, anchors attatched to ropes dangled like mirror ornaments.

"We're here. No one knows why, but whenever you get close to this cursed isle, you start seeing the night sky. Everyone else will see… normally, but not those close to this place." whispered Tetra. "Do you have a telescope?"

Link did not yet fully trust this girl, but he pulled out Aryll's telescope.

"Bingo! Don't worry, I'll be gently with it!" Tetra extended the telescope as gently as she could and looked at the fortress.

"I'm trying to look for a place we can pull in so you can save your sister, but I can't see anywhere we won't get spot- **AH HA HA HA HA HA!** "

Tetra randomly burst into laughter that she was obviously trying very hard to stifle, but failing to.

"What? What is it?" hissed Link. "You're going to get us caught!"

"Look at- ha ha ha! Look at the bird's nest there!"

Link took his telescope back and focused on the bird's nest. In it sat the giant bird, wings wrapped around itself. Link looked at it's back. All over, it was covered in little white…

Oh.

OH.

 **OH!**

Oh, not me too! Link made a loud snorting noise and wheezed in laughter on the floor. The pair thrashed left and right. Their sides began to hurt after thirty seconds

"Those seagulls definitely got their revenge!" laughed Link, getting up.

"Not the most conventional weapon, but that giant bird has the best 'Are you kidding me?' face!" chimed in Tetra, using the railings to stand up.

"Right, back to thinking." Tetra wiped all the mirth off of her face in a heartbeat. Link tried to do the same but he felt a straining pain as he held back his smile.

"We don't know a lot about this place, other than it used to belong to this group of bad pirates we once competed with. You can see what happened to them."

Tetra pointed to a shipwreck off to the left of the fort. Link felt a chill up his spine.

"How will I know where to look for my sister?" asked Link, standing up straight to remove the chill.

"She'll most likely be in one of the prisons past the walls."

Link scoured the fortress long and hard. Where were the prisons? He looked sadly at a bunch of seagulls flocking a window. They were going around in circles. Some even tried squeezing through the bars.

"Seagulls love my sister..." mumbled Link. Suddenly, Tetra's eyes widened like an owl.

"They do! EUREKA!" shouted Tetra before clapping a hand over her mouth at the volume. "Sorry about that, but I noticed the seagulls all chasing the big bird when he took your sister. There they are!" Link looked at the covered big bird.

"Well, we know that this is the same big bird we're looking for!" snickered Link. The pair shared a brief smile. "Anyway, how am I going to get to that window?" he continued.

"Now, let me see..." Tetra pulled out a thick book and, under the lantern attatched to the pole of the crow's nest, started to read it.

"Trick 98AD, Trick 142BP, Trick 921FA, Trick 1002MSA-"

Link looked at the book in astonishment. The book was really large, there were reams and reams and reams of pages and the font size was molecular. _"Just how many tricks does she have?"_ asked his brain.

"Aha! Trick 420BTY! That should do it!" Tetra put the book away, before turning to the boy and giving a chilling wink. This wink seemed to put Link in a trance as before he knew it, he was sitting in a barrel that he was too small to wriggle out of. He jumped, leaned on the lip and looked at what was happening. Senza and Nudge, the latter still just wearing a bath towel and slippers, were tugging on a rope, wrapping it around a wheel and winding it back towards-

" **A CATAPULT?!** " cried Link.

"Ssssshhhh! You're gonna get caught before you even get in!" hissed Tetra. "Look, Mako has done the coordinates and Gonzo is cutting the rope. He is very strong and has a claymore, remember? You're going to be fine! We're gonna launch you over the walls and into the window. If you try and flip in midair, your barrel should take all of the impact and break the wood bars!"

"I can't fly!" puffed Link, thrashing like mad.

"Oh, I know that. That's why you're on a catapult!"

"You're gonna get me killed!" panted Link in total stress.

"No, we won't. We're pirates! We've done this for years so we quite know what we're doing."

"Just how many members have you lost?" asked Link, rhetorically.

Gonzo unsheathed his massive sword and held it against the rope. He started lifting it up and down to wind up for the swing.

"On my mark!" announced Tetra. Link began sweating at his brow.

" **TEN,"**

Link closed his eyes.

" **NINE,** **"**

Link gritted his teeth.

" **EIGHT,"**

Link wiped sweat off his brow.

" **SEV-"**

" **AAAAAAAAH! A BEEEEEEEEEE!"**

Gonzo dropped his sword as he was lifting it when a bee flew in front of his face and he cowered in a heap on the floor. The sword fell through the air and sliced the rope clean in two.

 _ **PYOING!**_

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

The catapult sprung up as if it had woken up from a nightmare, sending Link and his barrel hurtling through the air at sky high speeds.

"GONZO!" hissed Tetra as Gonzo picked up his sword and Link disappeared over the stone walls.

"Sorry, miss, but you know I don't like bees!" whimpered the man, sheathing his weapon.

"I had no control over that bee!"

"Neither did I!"

Tetra sighed. "Well, at least we had Mako doing the calculations!" she said positively.

Suddenly, the ship door flew open and Niko marched out, looking very proud of himself.

"How is everyone? Mako fell asleep in da middle ov 'is work so I finished it fer' im!" he chimed.

" **YOU WHAT?!** " roared Tetra. She looked at the sheet of paper that was turned into her. The second half's handwriting was completely different and the Maths was all wrong!

" **OH, NO!** "

* * *

Backtracking to just after he was fired through the air, Link could not believe how fast he was going. The wind blew his hair, his hat was somehow staying on and almost all of the fortress was blurred by the sheer speed. The only thing that wasn't was the window he was aiming for. He was getting closer and closer!

Meanwhile, a group of guards were sitting at a table in the fortress, drinking 'Gob Goblin', whatever that was. One guard poured himself a glass and was about to dig in. He took a quick glance out the window and saw a barrel go flying past screaming " **I'M GONNA MAKE IIIIIIIIT!** " Without saying a word, the guard poured the contents of his glass back into the bottle and pushed it into the middle of the table while the other two guards continued talking, completely unaware of what happened.

The closer the fortress got, the more Link noticed something:

 **THE WINDOW WAS GETTING MORE AND MORE OFF-CENTRE.**

 **HE WASN'T GOING TO MAKE IT.**

Link hit the wall with an almighty crash as the barrel smashed into pieces, yards from the window. Spreadeagled into the wall like a starfish, his sword flipped out of its sheathe and somersaulted through the air before coming to land on a platform just before a giant door. Without saying a word, the boy slid down the wall leaving a trail of nose blood like a bug on a windscreen before falling into the dock's water below.

He was so dazed, he didn't notice that he was floating face down.

He was so dazed, he didn't notice that a patrol boat was about to moor up.

He was so dazed, he didn't notice that someone had hauled him aboard.

He was so dazed, he didn't notice that four guards were picking him up.

He was so dazed, he didn't notice them throwing him into a room.


	6. The Slammer

When Link came around, he noticed that he was lying on top of a wooden plank attached to the wall by two chains on either end. He didn't need to see anything else to know he was in a prison cell.

Sure enough, Link was in a rectangular alcove in the wall with a really cheap bed, a table full of alcoholic drinks and a bookshelf. The exit was barred off with wood. The light from a lantern attached to the other side of the bars blinked into the room. A small, barred window let in the moonlight. Link would have begun hacking at the door bars immediately, but he had dropped Trusty Rusty earlier.

Link's mind went blank with disbelief. How could this happen to him? _"I know I was trying to find a jail cell, but not like this! What am I meant to do here?"_ thought Link, sitting on his bed, propping up his face with his fist.

" **Hey!** " boomed a deep voice from the pocket of his tunic.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!** "

" **Oh, for goodness' sake! Stop screaming!** "

This of course, only caused the boy to scream harder.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

" **Oh, shut your cake hole! You're going to get caught!** "

The voice was coming from his tunic. Link felt around in his pocket and found something rough in there.

In his right pocket was… a green, shining stone attached to a leather lanyard... He never kept things in his right pockets, being a left-hander.

It was very jagged. Link was slightly worried about cutting himself on it. _"I don't recognise this."_ "Hey, who is this?"

The stone lit up from the inside. As it did, it got a lot warmer.

" **It's just me! Tetra!** "

"WHAT? How? What is this? Why is your voice so deep?" Link clapped a hand over his mouth in case a guard was nearby.

" **What? Oh, something went wrong. Hang on!** "

There was a loud crackling noise before Tetra's regular voice returned.

 **KERRRR-ACKLE! CRRRRACK! FFFFT!**

"This is my communication device! It's called a Pirate's Charm!"

"How did it end up in here?" Link asked before the answer came to him. "…Did you sneak it in?"

"Correct-a-mundo!" Tetra proudly responded, "You should have seen the look on your face! I should paint it and sell it to a museum!"

Link rolled his eyes. "That wasn't funny! I could have attracted a guard!" he hissed.

"What? I just did it so I could keep an eye on you! I wasn't quite sure if you'd be all right on your own…"

Link was somewhat surprised at Tetra's attentiveness. Still, it would have been a tad more thoughtful if she'd come along with him…

"Well, how goes finding your sister?" the captain continued.

"One problem with that." Link moved the stone about to show where he was. "Your barrel trick landed me in the jail, the nick, the cooler, the slammer, the chokey, the-"

"All right, that's enough weird slang for 'prison'. Listen, the situation will improve in time!"

Link nearly dropped the stone to the floor and almost choked on thin air. "Are you having a giraffe? What do you mean it will improve?!"

"Listen! There must have been a few prisoners here before. Maybe one has made an exit for others to use!" suggested Tetra.

"Great idea!"

"Then get to escaping, tout suite!" "And don't talk through this unless I call you! Over!"

The stone went off with a flash and a crackle. Link frustratedly placed it around his neck, tightening it so it hung around his chest. Of all the bossy people that had ever come to his island, Tetra was more bossy than all of them put together. Why did this girl have to be the only thing the boy had now? Why couldn't he have Granny? Or Aryll?

* * *

Link scoured the walls behind the bed for a tunnel, the floor under the table for a hole in the ground and he even started removing books from the bookshelf. One of them caught his eye due to its bright colours and relatively new condition compared to the others.

It was a leather tome with a smooth, brown cover and it was titled "For Future Prisoners". Link picked the book up and opened it. Its pages were soft as if they had been wet at some point. The boy flipped the book open.

 _"To whom it may concern, I have been able to make an escape tunnel that leads out of this cell. I escaped years ago, but I hope it can be of use to you. It is on top of this very bookshelf behind the jar."_

"Yesss!" hissed Link, punching the book back into the shelf in victory. The force caused the jar on top to start wobbling before toppling off the edge.

 **SMASH!**

Link jumped at the noise and looked at the corridor outside his cell. No guards? No guards. He looked up at where the pot once was. True to the book's word, there was a small tunnel that led into the wall. With a grin, Link jumped onto the table, then took a running leap at the bookshelf.

Carefully, he didn't want the thing falling on him, he climbed up the shelf to the flat top where the tunnel was. Crouching down, he noticed it was just about big enough for a boy his size. It was old and smelled a bit and it was filled with cobwebs… but the escape was worth a try. He steadily got down onto his stomach, crawled through the hole and kept going, brushing webs out of his face.

"Nice one, kid!" Tetra's voice crackled unexpectedly. In fact, she startled Link so much that he jumped and painfully bonked his head on the ceiling.

"Ow! Please be careful." he said. "A guard might hear you."

"All right. I'll keep as quiet as I can. Speaking of guards, I just called to tell you that I'm gonna warn you if there's any ahead. Just keep crawling and I'll be able to see what's at the end!"

Link only nodded and continued scurrying like a green mouse in the vents. The shaft turned in a right angle and when Link curved around there, he saw the light of a torch on the wall at the other end.

"Link, be careful." Tetra warned. "As I thought. There appears to be a big guard stationed right where the tunnel ends."

"Do you think he knew about it all along?"

"Yes. A Moblin." she said. "Remember those blue guys in the forest earlier? They were called Bokoblins and this guy here is related to them, but is way worse. They may not be clever, but they are vicious. You don't want to be messing with a Moblin."

"How do I get past him?"

"Just be aware that the tunnel doesn't seem to end on the floor. Land gently and then distract him."

Landing gently… That was something Link was good at. There was a really good climbing tree at his home that required a bit of a jump to get down from. In order to not frighten his granny, he'd learned how to completely muffle his landings from it. That way, she wouldn't think he'd just fallen and hurt himself. He flexibly turned so he was on his back and so his legs swung out of the opening…

Like a cat, he dropped to the floor, only hitting the floor with an almost silent click of boots on stone. At that moment, the Moblin snorted, drowning him out. Tetra remained silence, half out of not wanting to make the Moblin see him and the other because she was slightly stunned. She nearly swallowed her tongue when Link actually started reaching out…

…and tapped the guard's right shoulder.

 **SNORT!**

Startled, the brute swung its head right to find out what was behind him but Link swiftly rolled sideways, sprinting down the unguarded corridor and leaving the Moblin confused and scratching his head.

"What were you thinking?" Tetra admonished furiously, "What would you have done if that failed? I'll tell you what, it would have been back to jail for you!"

"But it worked." said Link unevenly, "Why dwell on the past when we have the present to think about?"

" **LOOK OUT!** "

"Argh!"

The conversation ground to a halt as did Link when he almost ran straight into another Moblin guard, who was patrolling the late end of the hallway. His boots loudly skidded on the floor, which was definitely enough to alert the massive guard. He turned quickly, pointing his poorly made wooden spear with a knife taped to the end of it behind him…

…There was nothing.

He turned around again. The boy that was hiding from him was turning in time with his back, keeping behind him and leaping agilely as the Moblin contorted his body around and around, trying to find out just what was causing all the scuffing sounds. He could hear someone sneaking about, but… no matter where he looked, he couldn't see them.

Meanwhile, Link was sweating madly as he pranced left, right and down to keep out of sight. He tactically rolled backwards at an angle the moment the Moblin did a 180. Gasping a bit, he ducked as low as he could go when the guard jumped and did a 360 spin to try and catch him out. When that was complete, he had to jump as the Moblin placed his head on the ground and did another spin. Finally, he turned once more, snorting in confusion, facing the way Link needed to go. Likewise, Link was facing the way he just came from…

…and almost the snarling face of the other guard he'd tricked earlier. He nearly choked at its sudden appearance… and its appearance in general. It was a large, porcine monster with a wrinkled brow, sunken-in, lime eyes, thick, flapping lips, big hands that could punch, thick hooves that could trample and a big head that could butt. The only clothes it wore were a set of blue trousers and a crude skull necklace.

The boy couldn't help but gasp as the Moblin before him roared furiously as he raised his lantern to smash him into cinders with...

"Link, run! **RUUUUUUUUUUUN!** " cried Tetra. Not caring if he got spotted now, Link rolled around the first Moblin and sprinted, going like the clappers and almost smashing straight through the door.

 **FOOM!**

The Moblin's lantern ended up missing the boy entirely and torched the tail of the guard Link had hid behind. Next came the sound of snorty arguing and then the boy heard a fistfight breaking out. He, however, was far away from that room and completely safe.

* * *

Tetra coughed. "That was a close one. Good work on outwitting those two, by the way."

Link was now in a tube corridor that stretched out from one building and into another. He turned his head and looked out the large open air windows. Beams of light swirled around the courtyard. The boy followed the light to his source and noticed giant, curvy torches moving about. Little figures stood at control panels, concentrating on the shining spots.

"Now, do you see those searchlights up on the towers?" Tetra continued. The Pirate's Charm glowed brighter.

Link held up the stone to speak into. "Yes, I see them."

"Great! Wouldn't it make life so much easier if you could just take out the operators?"

"What? No! They look several times older than me and my sword fell out when I, *ahem*, **CRASHED INTO THE WALL**. I came to get my sister, not killed!" hissed Link.

"In that case, maybe consider just knocking them out or something. Choose one that's guarding somewhere you need to get to."

"Remember, I have no sword!"

"I know this place." claimed Tetra. "Remember, our big, bad competitors used to live here. All you need to do is knock out the guard when he's busy with the controls."

Link put the charm back around his neck and sighed deeply. She was absolutely right and Link hated it. Not because he didn't like her being right, but this was a **REALLY DANGEROUS TASK**.

The boy scanned the giant pipes. Which one was guarding an important looking area? Finally, his eyes settled on a searchlight guarding a small ledge that Link would have to sidle across to get to the other side. As he followed the beam, he noticed that this searchlight was right above him. _"Uh-oh."_ he thought, taking a nervous gulp.

* * *

The boy crept around the side of the hallway along a short path and then scaled a ladder, finding himself atop the one searchlight tower he needed out of commission. He got down on his belly as if he were crawling through another tunnel, then took hold of the Pirate's Charm, giving it a shake to try and activate it.

"Yes?" Tetra rather gruffly asked. Link heard ruffling sounds coming from the other end. "What is it?"

"I'm not quite sure I can do this… How am I meant to fight back when I have no sword?"

"You don't need a sword." Tetra claimed, "You have me, remember?"

"Are you suggesting I take this off and clobber the guy with it?"

"Please don't do that." said Tetra, "I can hear you through this too! You hitting someone with that will not only break it, but it will also be killer noisy!"

"All right…" said Link uneasily. He heard more rustling on the other end. "…Are you going to sleep during all this?"

"What? N-n- that isn't important! I'm just resting my eyes… and my legs… and my face… Just knock the man at the platform out and find your flaming sister already!"

Link nodded, discreetly rolling his eyes, but he felt very uneasy. He was not sure this plan would go well…

The lookout platform was made of old wood and was hexagonal. It had an alcove at the side that had a set of controls fitted and a stool for the person controlling it to use. The searchlights themselves were two giant, curved pipes that resembled enormous cigars, puffing rays of light at wherever they were pointing.

Breathing silently, Link slithered behind the podium and got a look at the silhouette of a man who was using the contraption. Skinny, rather lopsided and raggedly dressed… and he also breathed like he had been stranded on a desert island with no company for months…

"Let's get down to business…" whispered Tetra, "When he's looking at the controls, jump at him, pin him and knock him out with your shield."

"Got it." Link replied, nodding understandingly, "but he's gonna be more intelligent than a monster."

"So make the knockout snappy! Don't let him react! Are you ready?"

Link made a quiet noise of affirmation. He steadily approached the man, coiled like a spring as if he were a cheetah hunting a gazelle…

…

…

…

"GO!"

The boy chucked himself at the man and crashed into him like a steam train. The two of them whizzed through the air and spun across the stone floor. As the man was forcefully separated from the control panel, he jerked the levers all the way up and pointed both searchlights skyward, rendering them useless. The man tried to throw his attacker off, but Link noticed that he was making very strange sounds… Snarling and growling. His skin was also thin and leathery… like some kind of…

…monster…

"Uh-oh…"

The 'man' threw Link off and leaped to its feet. When the boy got up, a familiar pair of yellow eyes and hideous, shining teeth were staring him straight in the face. Both Link and Tetra gasped in fright, but the Bokoblin charged at the defenceless boy. He didn't quite know what to do… so he just ran in circles around the searchlights. The Bokoblin, having the IQ of a microwaved potato, didn't even think to turn and cut him off by going the other way.

"All right, so this isn't a man!" said Link breathlessly, "It's not so intelligent after all!"

Once they passed the controls, Link dashed up the ramp. When the Bokoblin gave chase, he grabbed it by the ragged clothing, smashing its head against the assortment of levers and buttons over and over again.

\- One hit turned off the searchlights completely.

\- The next opened a hatch in the wood, revealing a sponge inside that promptly dabbed the monster in the face.

\- The third hit set off a vinyl record, which blared classical music across the fortress at full volume. Luckily, the other guards were too dim to realise that someone was under attack.

\- The fourth and final hit stopped the music… That's about it.

The boy quickly let go of the goblin and, while it struggled to recover, he took his shield from his back, raised it into the air and bought it down directly on the Bokoblin's head.

 **KA-BONK!**

The monster's eyes widened and dilated. It swayed as if drunk and then collapsed to the floor in a trauma-induced state of unconsciousness.

"Well done!" Tetra shouted victoriously, "You did that better than me!"

"You did that before?" Link mumbled pensively. He grabbed the knocked out Bokoblin under the arms and shoved it under the platform so that when it woke, it wouldn't be able to see or move anywhere… but not before snaffling its butterfly pendant so he'd have something to give Aryll when he found her, stuffing it in his purple spoils bag.

* * *

Link navigated the fortress for some time. If the time wasn't constantly frozen to night here, he would worry about coming home past midnight and worrying Granny… but he forgot about it because of said time not moving.

He passed room after room, the mood tensioning with every step. This fortress was quite clearly haunted because he heard inhumane voices, screams and laughter through the corridors.

You may be interested to know that the spookiest tricks favoured by the Forsaken Fortress' Society of Poltergeists included:

\- Knocking on doors and running away.

\- Putting records on the player and maxing out the volume dial.

\- Flinging books around the library.

\- Shoving over large items of furniture over.

\- Jangling chains about.

\- Possessing Moblin statues and having them glare at people as they go past.

\- Making two chairs dance together as if partners.

\- Sending cutlery flying at intruders.

\- Flushing the toilet when someone passes by it.

\- Prancing around the bedroom with a bedsheet on the head.

\- Randomly placing things in unfitting locations, such as putting a large pair of knickers in a fridge.

\- Dropping a bucket of icy water on someone as they walk through the doors.

\- Doing an evil laugh into a jar, making it echo around the fortress.

\- Drawing a rude picture of a bottom on the bathroom mirror with your finger and turning the shower on to steam the mirror up and reveal the picture.

If any of these happen to you, consider moving because there is a ghost in your house… or your little brother is playing tricks on you. Anyway, Link encountered all of these on his way up.

Tetra spoke up at last. "I didn't know things would get so bad over here…"

Link nodded, still quivering and sopping wet from the "bucket of icy water" trick.

"I always thought I lived a boring life… up until now." He chattered, "Fortresses, giant birds, missing sisters… I wish I could go back to a boring life now."

He reached the very last door on the outside of the fortress. He could hear the desperate flapping and crowing of the seagulls that swarmed the barred windows, a few managing to make it inside.

"…If this was where I hit the wall," the boy wondered, "then… My sword!"

A steel glint caught his eyes and he reached down, picking up Trusty Rusty. He seemed undamaged… no chips or gashes… just the usual rust.

"Tetra, we made it!"

"I can see that." Tetra replied bluntly, "What are you waiting for? Your sister needs you!"

Link took a step to the door, but he stopped himself and lifted the stone shyly. "And neglect thanking you?" he said, "You've helped me through every step of this and I couldn't have gotten this far without you… Thanks for slipping this in my pocket."

"Will… Will you just go and kick the door down and run out with your sister?" stuttered Tetra, clearly flustered, "You can thank me after that."

The boy smiled, nodded and shoved the massive pair of doors open, squinting slightly at the bright light and then rolling inside.

* * *

The room inside was circular and very tall. A spiral ramp led up and up and up through the roof, some of it made of wood, some of it made of stone. Two large prison cells with bars of wood were in the room. The one on the left contained no prisoners but the one on the right contained three girls. One looked rather poor. She was dressed in tatty, patched robes and had muddy brown, tangled hair. Another was very rich looking and had fair hair tied into a bun. She wore a pink, frilly dress and held a wafting fan. The third and final girl was very familiar. She had a blue, flowery dress, fair hair and was feeding the seagulls that were cramming through the bars with breadcrumbs.

Wait a minute, seagulls?

"Sis!"

The girls all looked his way, but Link only noticed the third girl.

It was his little sister, Aryll. Upon seeing her brother, her face shone like a Christmas tree.

"Brother!" she gasped. The poor girl rubbed her eyes.

"Great, I'm so hungry that I've started seeing things! Why is there a leprechaun in here?" she muttered.

"That's no leprechaun! That's my brother!"

First, Link headed for the door of the cell. Darn. Locked. _"Don't know what I was really expecting there."_ he thought. He drew his sword and held it in two hands, positioning it like a baseball bat.

"Stand back, you three! I don't want anyone getting splinters from this!" he ordered. The girls all did as they were told.

"One, two, **THREE!** " With an almighty yell of effort, Link slammed his sword into the door bars. Little shards of wood flew everywhere. Trusty Rust stuck in the wood for a while before Link could pull it back out. The door now bore a large, deep slash line in it.

"About two more should do it!" he deduced. He prepared his sword for another swing.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!**

Everyone froze in their tracks as a horrid shriek permeated the air. The girl in rags turned to Link.

"The guard is coming back to check on us! Hide! The other side of the door!" she begged. Link nodded at her.

"Will do!"

The boy sprinted back to where he came from, but a loud creak and a thump came from the other side. The lock had fallen back over the door.

Link pulled on the door. It wouldn't budge. He was trapped.

"I'll fight him off!" he declared as the guard came falling through the roof of the room. Link's eyes widened and his mouth hung open with horror as he realised who it was.

 **THE GUARD WAS THE GIANT BIRD.**

Still, the warrior thrust his sword into the air as the burly birdie landed with a giant crash, knocking the girls clean to the floor.

"How dare you?! You snatched my sister, put her through who knows what for several hours and now you interrupt me? It took me ages to get up here and I'm not going down without a fight! **I'LL KILL Y-** "

Halfway through his inspiring monologue, the bird smashed it's open beak into the ground and creaked it shut. When it pulled its head back up again, Link was trapped sideways in its beak like some kind of- Wait, is anyone getting déjà vu?

The bird flew up and up and up as Aryll screamed and screamed and screamed. The rich girl looked down in disappointment while the poor girl almost fainted.

"Don't worry! I'll be back to rescue you lot! That's a promise!" The boy's voice got quieter and quieter until it was inaudible, and the siblings were separated for the second time that day. Needing the extra hand to hold on, Link sheathed his sword with great difficulty.

The bird carried Link out of the room before it flew over to a shipwreck held aloft by one of the stone branches of the fortress. Link held onto his hat for dear life as it slowed down and began hovering at the back of the remains. The front of the ship was all that was remaining, so the back of it was open-air. You could see the whole of the inside from the back. The bird bowed it's head, thrusting Link down and back up again. Link tried to focus on what seemed to be a man in robes, but the bird was hovering up and down so this was very hard if not impossible to do. When he finally managed to get a good glimpse, the man bent his neck and made a scratching sound with his mouth, which was inaudible over the deafening wing beats of the bird.

The mighty bird paused for what felt like minutes but was really just ten seconds. Link's heart was beating faster than running footsteps. His stomach was doing gymnastics while on sugar. His brain was overheating. With no warning, the bird flung its head left and then right, opening its mouth in the process. Link held on as best he could, but the edges of its beak were too sharp, and Link reflexively let go. The boy flew out of its mouth and spun through the air like a discus.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

"Sor_y ab_t that, N_ge got stuck in th_ sho_r and- Link? Wh_'s happ_? L_? * **CRACKLE* *CRACKLE*** "

The Pirate's Charm lit up and down and up and down as it crackled madly. Link was spinning further and further out of signal. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the night rapidly changing to sunset as he left the time-changing zone of the fortress and him hitting the water.

 **SPLAAAAAAAAASH!**

* * *

"Link… Link… Wake up, Link… The time has come for you to awaken..."


	7. A Custard Slice

"Link… Link… The time has come. Awaken."

Link woke to a strange voice. He felt wood below him as he rocked back and forth. He had not opened his eyes, but he could hear waves on the sides of him and children playing above him. The insides of his eyelids were glowing red, meaning it must have been daytime. Was he back at Outset?

The boy opened his eyes. When the swirling colours stopped, he found himself under a cove. This was definitely not Outset.

" _Darn it!"_ he thought. _"Where on earth am I?"_

Looking down, he could see that he was lying on a little red boat with a beige wood decking. The figurehead of the boat was that of a red bearded dragon.

"Ah, so you stir?" came the voice. It was deep, rich and royal. Who could this have been?

"What's going on? Who is this? Is this your boat? Move a bit so I can see you, please." said Link, puzzled.

Suddenly, the figurehead of the boat swung around to face Link. "If you say so!" it shouted.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!** "

Link toppled overboard into the sea. **SPLASH!**

As he emerged, he looked in shock and terror at the boat. A talking boat? Had the bird just messed up his head by throwing him?

The figurehead laughed uproariously. "Did I startle you?" he cackled.

"What do you think?" spluttered the boy as he spat out a mouthful of seawater. He put his hand behind his back to look for his sword just in case he had lost it again. It was still in it's sheathe. _"How did I not let go of this?"_ he thought. He had a point. A simple smack into the wall had caused him to drop his sword, but flying through the air at a hundred miles per hour didn't?

"I suppose it is to be expected. Even though we have pig monsters of big and small and giant birds, we still have yet to see a talking boat… until now." continued the boat.

"Yeah, I suppose- Wait, how did you know?" demanded Link as he backed away into the cove. This boat was scaring him. _"I_ _MUST be seeing things."_ He pinched himself. "Ow!"

"I can assure you, you're not seeing things." said the boat with a knowing grin. Link backed further into the cave of the cove.

"Please! Don't do that! I don't feel comfortable with people reading my mind!"

"OK, I'll stop with the mind reading. I can understand why you wouldn't like that. I can assure you, though. I am real. Anyone around here will be able to see me."

Link calmed down and approached the boat.

"Where is this?" he asked.

"I shall explain in due time. First, I am the King of Red Lions. Do not fear, for I am not your enemy. Please, make yourself comfortable."

That did admittedly make the boy feel more comfortable. He sat down on the sand and hugged his knees.

"Link… I have been watching your journey ever since your pirate ship passed me. Your attempts to save your sister were brave, yet you were too hurried. When you saw her, you got so caught up that you forgot all about the possibility of the bird returning." explained the King of Red Lions.

"Yeah, I guess it was. I'm just… very close to my sister." Link hung his head as he thought of her.

"I understand. The desire to protect your sister gave you the courage to face any threat, but courage does not necessarily give strength. That is why you could not overpower that bird. Remember, too much courage can make you foolhardy."

Link just sat and listened. The words slightly hurt but the boat was exactly right. Now he needed as much advice as he could get.

"I suppose you saw him. That man in the robes atop the highest shipwreck…"

"Yes, just about." Link nodded his head as he said this. He didn't want any misunderstandings.

"His name is… **Ganon."**

That name sent a shiver down Link's spine. This really said something, as he had never heard it before and yet it still gave him a feeling of unavoidable dread.

Suddenly, Link's vision was overtaken by a forced daydream. He could still hear the waves rippling, children playing and the king speaking, but now he could see flames against a black background. A man was standing in the middle of the flames, back turned. Black robes with a golden pattern of a staring, smiling face on it stared at him.

"He who obtained the power of the gods, attempted to cover the land in darkness, and was ultimately sealed away by the very power he hoped to command." taught the boat. "He is the very same Ganon… The emperor of the dark realm the ancient legends speak of. I know not why the seal of the gods has failed, but now that Ganon has returned, the world is once again being threatened by his evil magic."

The daydream faded back to reality.

"What on earth was that?" gasped Link as his pupils dilated.

"Just one of my abilities!" The king didn't dwell on that subject any longer. "Now, tell me, boy. Do you still plan on saving your sister from hi-"

Before the king could finish his sentence, Link thrashed his head up and down.

"...Good. And will you do whatever it takes to save her?"

Once again, Link nodded furiously.

"Great. In that case, I shall ferry you along the ocean and act as your guide. Ganon cannot be locked away with even a grown man's strength, let alone the strength of a child… No offence. The key to defeating him remains sealed in a hidden location that you will need to reveal before you can stand a chance against him."

"Okay, I understand. Now where are we?" Link was desperate to know where he was. After the fortress, he needed a more pleasant island to cheer him up a bit.

"Thank you for reminding me, young man! I was almost about to send us off to our first destination! The reason we cannot yet depart is a bit embarrassing for me to admit as a boat that can speak the words of men… but I bear no sail." The figurehead lowered and let out a deep sigh. "I have bought you to a town far to the east of the dark skies of the Forsaken Fortress. A town called Windfall Island. Merchants often come here to trade and sell goods and one of them is bound to have a sail." As he talked, the figurehead turned from the boy and began moving about as if rummaging through something. "But it would be unreasonable to expect you to spend your own money on a sail for someone else, so..." The head turned back around, this time carrying a brown bag in its mouth. It dropped it onto the deck like a dog. "Use these!"

Link opened up the bag and saw four yellow rupees and eight blue ones. Yellows were worth 10 and blues were worth 5, making 80 rupees.

"Great! I'm off! Maybe walking about a little will dry my clothes off." Link began to head around the cove. The king called after him.

"Remember, there is no time to play! Once you find the sail, we can depart!"

"Okay. Thank you… sir!" Link headed past the cove and into a field. Two girls played in the flowers and a pig snorted alongside them.

"I never thought I'd call a boat 'Sir' before... Woah!" Link had never been more impressed. A modern, bustling town lay to the left, crammed with people. On the right lay a single building. _"I'll keep that place in mind."_ thought Link. He pulled a U-turn and headed up a grassy plateau. Suddenly, he could hear singing in the distance.

"What in the world is that?" Link held his ears as the singing got louder and louder and louder. Even when the voice sounded like the man was singing into a mic attached to dozens of amps, it was still in tune.

Link finally reached the source of the voice. A man with a brown pompadour and a white jumpsuit was prancing in front of a strange stone tablet. Ribbons danced down his arms as he swung them left and right.

"Um, excuse me, sir..."

The man turned around with a jump.

" **AAAAH!"** he shrieked. Upon realising that it was just a child, he calmed down.

"Woo! You gave me quite a fright, little guy!" he gasped breathlessly. "Now, I am Tott! People call me The World's Charismatic Dancer Extroadinare, but just Tott is fine! What was it you wanted?"

Link looked at the ground nervously. This man was giving him the creeps. "I… I'm wondering if you know where I can buy a sail."

"Ah, a sail! I don't know of any shops but just go checking doors. You'll find one eventually."

Link took that opportunity to dash through the nearest door and shut it behind him. Inside was a stone room. Several wooden bars rose from floor to ceiling. A little wooden door was on the right. It lead into the cell.

It was the town prison. Nothing to do here. Link turned around and started to head back the other way when a high pitched voice called out.

"Hey! You!"

" _Oh, no. Now I've attracted a prisoner! I am so dead!"_ thought Link as he cringed. However, the prisoner was not what he expected.

He wore a full green body suit, was rather short, wore red shorts over his body suit and had a rather… smily face. He looked like a door-to-door salesman at Halloween.

"Hmmmmmmm… I see the same green clothes and the same green hat! By the look of you, I'd say… Sir! Could you… by chance… be… a **FAIRY**?"

"...Sorry?" Link tilted his head in confusion.

"You must have sensed my telepathy! That is why you came here, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?!" trilled the strange man.

"What? I was just looking for a sail for my boat and came in here by-"

"Tingle's the name! A few days ago, I was randomly locked up for 'suspicious looks'!"

Suddenly, Link stopped talking. He felt kind of bad for the man now.

"That's not fair. You can't help how you look." He took a quick glance at Tingle's clothes. _"Or maybe it wasn't his face that got him here."_

"So I ask for your help! There's a switch just over there in the corner. I've been throwing rocks at it to try and weigh it down, but it isn't working!"

Link looked at the corner of the room. Sure enough, there was a yellow switch surrounded by rocks. As if in a trance, he wondered over and stepped on it.

 **Creeeeeak!**

The jail door opened and Tingle came waddling out.

"Tingle thanks you, kind sir!" he announced.

"Um… you're welcome?" Link was getting more and more confused by the minute.

"He thanks you so much that he rewards you! Now you can visit his island!" With that, the man pulled out a chart and shoved it into the boy's hands before charging out the door.

" **FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!** "

The portly man sprinted across the hill and off the edge.

 **SPLAAAAASH!**

Link stood still in silence. I can't blame him, I am still processing! What just happened? Link unwrapped the chart that Tingle had given him.

On it was a grid representing the region. There were four crude drawings that were meant to represent different islands. Two stood out to Link: An island with a windmill on and an island with a tall pillar. The first was obviously Windfall, the second was supposedly Tingle's island, but the other two were pictures of what seemed to be fairies.

" _What could those be?"_ thought the boy, rolling up the chart and popping it into his pocket.

* * *

Link headed back down the hill. The lone shop away from the town was his next destination. As link opened the door, a little bell tinkled to warn the shopkeeper.

" **WHO GOES THERE?** "

A loud voice with what you would call a thick Brooklyn accent shook the store. As if hiding behind it, Link peaked his head around the door to see the salesman. He had two ball shaped tufts of hair on his otherwise bald head. He was also rather short.

"What's a little man like you doing here?" The man bashed his fist on the counter.

"I-I-I'm looking for a sail." Link was VERY nervous about this place. This man did not seem like one to mess with.

"A SAIL? We don't sell no sail here! The only sale we have is for bombs!"

"How do I qualify as a bomb?" asked Link, obviously not understanding the wordplay.

"You'll be out the door if you make fun of me!" snarled the vendor, leaning forward.

"OK, OK, OK! How much are your bombs?"

"10,000 rupees for ten! Howzat?"

Link's jaw dropped at these ridiculous prices. _"How is this clown still in business?"_ whirred his head.

"How on earth are you still going?" he asked incredulously, almost mirroring his mind.

"Well, no one else makes bombs anywhere! No one has ANY alternatives!"

Link turned and began to leave.

"Flamin' price fixer!" he muttered. His heart skipped a beat when he realised that his muttering was way too loud. The cannon master gasped.

" **WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"**

A chilling hiss sounded from behind him. Terrified, Link turned his head. A lit bomb was laying behind him.

" **A BOMB!** "

With a yelp, Link ran outside, slammed the door and sprinted away.

"Wait! You're not meant to lock the bomb in the-"

 **BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!**

Several explosions went off from inside the shop. Miraculously, none knocked the building down. After silence fell, a massive amount of smoke poured from the windows and doors.

"N-n-n-not again..." moaned the shopkeeper's voice from inside the now black building.

"' _Again?' Just how many times has he blown his shop up?"_

* * *

Out of further options, the boy headed through the impressive gate that lead into town. It was large, white and grand with a little arch at the bottom to go through. On the other side of the arch was a road that lead past a few buildings. Dozens of shoppers marched in and out of the gates with bags full of loot. It looked like Mont-Saint-Michel during the holidays!

Link headed through the arch and into town. Bumping into shoppers and gossipers, bright and dim colours on the side of the road caught his eye.

A very skinny man dressed in rags was sitting on the side, just out of range of the trampling shoppers. His blanket was bright and colourful. He looked exhausted and sick. It was obvious that he hadn't eaten in days.

"Excuse me, sir, have you eaten?" Link bent down to the man's level, expecting to see hope in his eyes. The man just shut them a bit further than he already had.

"I… can't." came his raspy voice. He sounded like he hadn't drank in days, but Link knew that was impossible.

"Why… not? Do you have a… disease?" Link paused before he said 'disease', worrying about causing offence.

"No… My precious daughter… Long, brown hair… Brown… ragged clothes… She was snatched from her covers in the middle of the night..."

Link's heart stopped and his eyes lit up with hope at the same time. One one hand, the giant bird wasn't just targeting his island but this one as well. On the other hand, he had seen the girl this man was talking about safe and sound.

"Sir, your daughter is all right. She is in a fortress to the west of here and I plan to return there to get my sister. You're not the only one who's had a loss. I saw her in the same cell as my sister. She is going to be OK."

Slowly, the man's eyes opened further and further and a smile crept across his face. His deformed face made it creepy, but Link could easily tell that hope was returning to the man.

"Just wait there a second." Link checked over his shoulder to look at a chalkboard near a set of stairs.

 **Windfall Island** **CAFÉ** **BAR**

Perfect! Link ran off up the stairs and then headed through a door on the right. As he went through, another set of stairs headed up into the establishment. Scanning the menu, Link took out his personal money and slammed 15 rupees on the table.

"One custard slice, please!" He asked with a smile.

Surprised at his speed, the bartender said not a word. She went to a woven basked behind her, picked up a cake and came back.

"That's fift- oh, you have the exact amount! I wish more people were like you!" she gasped. "I've lost count of how many people held up the line by counting their money at a snails pace!"

Before Link could say 'thank you' a loud flapping came from the side. Everyone turned their heads as a bird came flapping through the thin slits in the wall used for fresh air.

This bird was not like any bird the boy had seen in his life. He had a white back and a black front with calligraphic patterns on his wings. He was adorned with a white, long, patterned tail and a black drooping crest on his crown. the crest resembled a disco pompadour. He kind of looked like that strange man dancing in front of the stone tablet from earlier.

" _Please don't tell me that nutter can transform into a bird!"_ pleaded Link's mind as the bird hopped around tables with a sheet of paper in his mouth. He stopped around customers and tilted his head as if to ask them something. The customers would take a look at the paper and shake their heads, causing the bird to move onto the next customer. Finally, the bird ran out of people at tables to question so he spread his wings and flew over to the counter. The bird looked at the lady at the bar.

Taking one look at the paper, the lady gave a sympathetic smile and shook her head. The bird hopped to face Link and showed him what was on the paper.

 **MISSING: Mila**

 **AGE: 10**

 **LAST SEEN: House of Wealth**

 **LAST HEARD WORDS: "Excuse me, but this is no way to treat a lady! Unhand me this instant or I shall turn you into a roast for Sunday!"**

 **DESCRIPTION FOR THE SHORT SIGHTED: Pink dress, fair hair, wafting fan, lots of makeup, wait, this won't help short sighted people, will it?**

Link studied the photo as the bird stared at him with his beady eyes, waiting for a response. Suddenly it clicked: That girl was the rich one that was imprisoned with Link's sister!

As a look of realisation zapped across Link's face like a bolt of lightning, he gave a thumbs up and nodded his head. The bird began humming in a way that sounded like it was stifling a laugh and then it flew back out of the window.

"What was all that about? Is that bird the girl's… father or something?" asked Link to the bartender before realising how ridiculous that sounded out loud.

"No. It's been doing this every day now. Ever since that rich man's daughter vanished from the island, it's been coming in to ask my customers if they've found… Wait." The bartender stopped dead in her tracks. "Did you say you've seen her?"

Shoot. If Link told her the story, he would sound like some kid with an overactive imagination.

" _Eh, worth a shot."_ "Well, she's being kept in a fortress to the… west of here and she must have been captured by a giant bird!" _"Wow, that sounded a LOT more believable in my head than out loud!"_

The bartender looked at him like he had a turnip for a head. Instantly, this subsided.

"You know what? I believe you. There have been sightings of a giant bird from SEVERAL sources. Last time I told someone about it, they asked what I was putting in my coffee! What's that supposed to mean?"

Link remembered the reason he was here in the first place.

"Oh, I forgot about the man! Sorry! I have to go!" Link turned to leave. The bartender called out to him.

"Thank you for visiting, young man!"

* * *

The beggar from earlier unwrapped his custard slice and wolfed it like a… wolf? "Is that better?" Asked Link, looking rather hungry himself. The beggar simply finished his food and sat back looking very content.

Link moved on to looking for a sail. Scouring the signs at the stall near the café, he was about to go back in to get something for himself, but suddenly a face popped up from beneath the counter, causing him to leap into the air.

"Oh, did I scare you? I'm sorry?" said the man behind the counter. He seemed to speak gently with what you would call a thin Russian accent. He was wearing a dark blue parka despite the warm weather. His skin was just slightly coloured and his face was bearded.

"Um, no. You didn't. I… Well… I'm looking for..." Link was rather worried that this was another strange man after his encounters with the dancer, the bomb shop owner and Tingle.

"My goodness, you look like you haven't eaten in days!" gasped the man. He had a point. Link hadn't eaten since he departed from Outset Island, which was about 18 hours. In that respect, he had something in common with the beggar from earlier.

"Just one. I'm fine."

"Not eating is bad for you! Here! Look at this!"

The man reached below the counter and opened a creaky door. A pleasant smell filled the air. The man returned with a plate of kebabs.

"These are my finest Shashlik! I think you are in need of them."

Now the tables had… kind of turned. Link went from feeding strangers to being fed by strangers.

The boy began to turn red. "Are you sure about this? You said these are your finest… sash-lick?"

"Oh, of course! You are in need of nourishment, my boy!"

Embarrassed, Link looked at the kebabs for a second, then grabbed them and bit all the meat off at once.

"There. How's that?" asked the man gently as he pushed a glass of water across the table for Link.

Link swallowed and then downed the water to avoid choking on the kebabs. "That's… better. Thank you very much."

"The name's Zunari." He offered his hand for Link to shake. "I come from an island that is so big, the sun will be setting on one side and rising on the other! There are 11 time zones!"

Link's jaw dropped. "No way! Really? Just how big is it?"

Zunari gave a knowing smile. "17.1 million square kilometres! Look at this!" He whipped out a giant map. It had several giant islands, most split into different regions.

"Here is where I used to live. Velikan." Zunari pointed to a MASSIVE island. It was so big that it was hard to say if it was on the left or the right. It started in the middle, then it went all the way to the right and then almost connected with a large island on the left. The Great Sea region was like an ant compared to it.

"That IS big! I… I am lost for words." Link took the opportunity to change the subject. "Anyway, I'm looking for a sail. Do you sell one?"

"Oh, lucky you! That is precisely what I was selling today! You see, the reason all sea charts of the Great Sea look the same is because any area outside of them is dangerous! Whirlpools, storms, waves, that is what sank my vessel." Link cringed at the outcome.

"Woah, I'm sorry. Is that why you're selling your sail?" asked Link. He bowed his head politely.

"Precisely! I like it here, so I'm selling boat equipment so I can eventually buy a house to live in!"

"I can help with that!" Link took out the bag of money he was given and emptied the contents on the desk.

"Oh, my goodness! Thank you! What a generous young man!" Rather hurriedly, Zunari disappeared under his desk and pulled out a beige sail with wind patterns scattered across it.

"Now, tell me. What has happened during your time here?" Zunari's transition from ecstatic to calm was almost jarring.

"There was some guy dancing around by a stone tablet!" laughed Link. Looking back, this was kind of funny.

"Ah, Tott. He sometimes calls himself 'The King of Rock and Roll' and always says this weird stuff in a fake deep voice!" Zunari and Link shared a laugh.

"Also, there was another guy in green who got locked up for his looks and then jumped into the sea when he was free, some nutcase tried to sell me bombs for a thousand rupees each and then threw one at me when I said 'no', I fed a poor man on the street and I got questioned about a rich girl by some bird that looked like… Tott." listed Link. Zunari seemed more and more interested.

"Ah, yes! Tingle was locked up because the police were near their lunch break and they needed to solve a crime about a stolen picto box. Cannon runs the bomb shop over there and he throws his wares at people who annoy him, often making him blow his shop up. It was nice of you to feed that poor man over there. He was too stressed to eat for a while, but you must have somehow calmed him down. Finally, that bird is a silver pheasant. He belongs to the rich man who lives in the House of Wealth and his job is a 'Carrier Pheasant' to spread the word about his lost daughter."

Link gave a smile. He hadn't yet met such a nice person on this island, so this was pretty heartwarming for him. It was nice of Zunari to fill him in on what was going on.

"Okay, I'm going back to my boat now. I need to..." Link felt it wasn't a good idea to repeat his story as 'There's no time to play' echoed in his head. "I need to head off to my next destination."

"Thank you for buying my sail!" called Zunari. As Link wandered away, he heard the shopkeeper say quietly, "Kakoy khoroshiy molodoy chelovek!"

Link obviously didn't speak that language, but it was clear that the man was talking to himself in whatever it was.

* * *

Whistling casually, the boy wondered back through the giant arch. With no warning, the familiar sound of flapping whooshed closer and closer to him. Turning around, Link realised that it was the silver pheasant from earlier. It landed gracefully, turned around and began looking back through the arch. The first thing Link noticed in that direction was a man in a suit holding a flowery cup of water outwards but behind him, speed-walking down the path was a man Link hadn't seen before.

"Hey, you boy! Waaaaaiiiiit!" he panted as he swung his arms back and forth. He was rather portly but tall. He had a large head but a small face, making him look like a hamster wearing a gold-tasselled red gown.

The man puffed and panted his way to the arch, reaching his arm out to grab the cup of water from his servant. "Thank you!" With that, the servant lowered his arm and marched back as the man downed most of the contents and poured the rest over his head as if he was running a marathon. When he finally reached the boy, the silver pheasant leaped into the air and landed on his shoulder.

"Well done, Cranston!" said the man to the bird. He focused his small eyes on Link. "Are you the one who knows where my daughter is?"

Link nodded his head. "Yes, that is me."

The man's eyes became double their size and he leaped into the air. "Yahoo!" he whooped.

Abruptly, he shook Link's hand. HARD. The boy felt that this man was going to dislocate his arm.

"I am Mister Bradford." he announced, placing a hand on his chest. "Now, where did you last see my daughter?" The man leaned closer, listening for Link's response.

"She's in a place west of here called the Forsaken Fortress with my sister. Don't worry, I plan to go back and rescue her at some point and I can take the other two girls with-"

Before he could say another word, Mr. Bradford whirled around and bellowed at the town.

" **MEN, WE TRAVEL WEST TO THE FORSAKEN FORTRESS! PREPARE THE PRINCE OF YELLOW TIGERS! MILA'S COMING HOME!** "

Link felt powerless to stop him as Mr. Bradford and his servants carried a large, yellow canoe to the shore and rowed off. One beat on a drum as the others rowed in time. Mr. Bradford stood at the front of the boat, causing the back end to rise out of the water slightly, and pointed straight ahead.

"I think this is west! Beat the drum faster!"

All the rowers rowed faster and faster as the boat motored off into the distance. All Link could think of doing now was heading back to the cove where the king would be waiting.


	8. A Blizzard Of Bulletins

Link headed back to his little cove as Mr. Bradford rowed off into the distance. Speaking of boats, the King of Red Lions was waiting for him. He swivelled his head to look at him.

"Here we are! Got sidetracked, did we?" laughed the king. Link jumped in fright. He was still not used to talking boats.

"Yes… I'm sorry. There was just too much stuff going on and-"

"No, no. Don't worry. It was very nice of you to feed that poor man and help the rich man on his way to finding his daughter." The boat gave a warm, wooden smile. Link did seem a little surprised.

"Y-you're not mad that I took too much time?" stuttered the boy.

"Oh, no, no! Why would I be mad? You helped several people and I know you weren't the one who blew up the bomb shop!" The king laughed madly.

"Wait, how do you know this?" Link was now a little suspicious about the king's behaviour.

"Did you think I wouldn't see or hear a giant explosion just around the corner?" guffawed the king.

That was a pretty good point. Silently, Link held out the sale he bought from Zunari. The boat eyed it from all over, one eye half closed and the other wide open. After a few moments, the king finally spoke.

"Very good! Jump in, lad!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy heaved himself into the boat. One problem though:

 **HE HADN'T SAILED A DAY IN HIS LIFE.**

"Um, sir?"

"Yes, my boy?"

"I have never sailed once before. Are you sure about this?" Link wobbled about as his weight tilted the boat left and right.

"Of course! I am very easy to operate. Just open the little compartment on the deck and pop the sail in."

Link did as he was told. Looking for the little square in the wood, he found it, creaked it open and crammed the sail inside.

"Great! Now when you want to activate it, firmly stomp on that button on the floor. It won't activate with a light step, so don't worry about accidentally stepping on it and removing the sail!"

Link glanced at the floor and sure enough, there was a little red button by his feet. He stepped on it with force and a mast shot out of the middle of the deck with the sail attached.

Link gasped in fascination. "How do you keep that in there? That mast is even bigger than me!"

"It folds up. Now, the wind blows east! Let's get sailing! Our first destination lies in that direction!" The king was quick to change the subject. Link simply rolled his eyes and cruised the boat out of the cove. He was hoping that dodging questions wasn't-

 **THWACK! SPLASH!**

As the wind caught the sail, the sideways part of the mast that holds up the sail swung round and clubbed the boy in the head like a pro wrestler doing a lariat, knocking him into the sea. He surfaced, spitting out water.

"Oh, I forgot to mention… Mind the boom." said the boat, stifling a laugh.

* * *

After five minutes on the blue, Link was starting to get the hang of it. He found somewhere to stand where the boom couldn't get him, he found a stance that gave easy access to the sail button and he even found a position that allowed him to clearly see ahead of him.

"See, you're not so bad at this!" assured the king with a smile as Link sailed to the left to avoid a rock.

"It's just coming… naturally to me. The same thing happened when I got this sword." Link took out his sword while sailing and swung it about a few times before putting it away. "Trusty Rusty here has never- oop!" He clapped his free hand over his mouth. He wouldn't even trust Aryll with the fact that he named his sword, let alone a sentient, sarky boat.

The king began to laugh madly.

" **HA HA HA HA HA! AH HA HA HA HA HA!** Oh, 'Trusty Rusty'! That's a great name for a sword! Where did you get it?" The king turned his head in anticipation for an answer.

"Oh, it just slipped out. I actually flinched when I first called it that." Link hung his head before quickly realising he had to look where he was going.

"Don't feel that way! It's catchy!"

" _Huh! Maybe this guy isn't so bad after all!"_

Before Link could apologise for his suspicions, a familiar voice boomed out.

" **RETREAT! RETREAT! RETREAT! RETREAT! RETREAT! RETREAT!"**

Link looked to his left. In that direction was Mr. Bradford and his army of rowing men, going like the clappers towards a large island in the distance. The man playing the drum to dictate the speed was pretty much doing a circus drum roll.

"Mr. Bradford? What on earth are you doing here?" gasped the boy as he struggled to keep up with the zooming boat.

"My trip to the fortress did not end well." sighed the man, holding out his hand to the drummer to stop. The whole army of rowers plunged their oars into the ocean and the boat's back lifted into the air and slapped back down, soaking Link with water.

Simply stopping the boat, taking his hat with some difficulty and wringing it out, Link continued talking. "What happened? Were you attacked?"

"First, we got there and the sun just… turned into the moon! It was night time in a flash! We were all very surprised! Secondly, there was no way into the fortress. A wooden gate blocked our entry and we couldn't get in! Thirdly, there were cannons everywhere! We were getting fired at madly! Lastly, a patrol boat came around at just the wrong moment! We were almost caught! We are now retreating back to Windfall Island!"

Link looked at him, furrowing his brow. "Um, sir, Windfall Island is all the way back there."

"What? No, no, no! That's…" Mr. Bradford looked to the left. "Oh, cripes! **HARD LEFT!** " With that, the rowers on the right all started rowing to turn the boat and, when it was level with Windfall, everyone rowed as fast as they could. The front of the boat lifted out of the water as they all motored back home.

"Wow… I hope he can find a rowing competition." tittered the king. Link gave a stifled snort of a laugh. "That's enough jokes. Where must we go?" he asked.

"That tall island over there. It is called… Dragon Roost Island." The king paused as he said this. "From here on, you will need an enchantment for your bag. I fear that you may collect a lot of things that won't fit in that little thing."

"Oh, what does it do? Where is it?" asked Link. The figurehead turned to face him and dropped a small, red sachet on the ground.

"Pour the contents of that into your bag." he ordered.

Link did as he was told. He undid the little bag and poured the insides into his bum bag. What was in the bag was a very luminous green powder. It seemed to all disappear as it fell inside. Suddenly, Link's bag got a whole lot lighter.

"W-w-w-what did you just do?" spluttered Link. All the king did was nod.

* * *

Sailing towards the island, the small boat bounced over the waves like it was crowd-surfing. Link was having a blast with this sailing lark. He never thought he would like boating, but he loved every second. The spray in his face would probably bother everyone else, but Link loved it. His hat falling off was not a concern, as it seemed thoroughly latched onto his head. The boom swinging as he changed directions would have made him flinch, but he had gotten used to that after his incident earlier. He looked up at the blue sky. A few clouds were dotted around, but all that did was remind the boy of the ocean: A deep blue void with white froth on the surface.

Suddenly, the air got a lot warmer. The sea got even bluer and the spray produced from the boat got warmer and saltier. The king turned his head to face Link. "We have reached our destination."

The island was literally a mountain crossed with a volcano. The top was surrounded by clouds. It seemed very green and dry at the same time, as little shrubs and cacti lined the climbable areas of the mountain. The boat pulled up at the beach as Link was deep in thought over something.

"What's wrong? You seem… a bit quiet." remarked the boat.

"Nothing. I can't quite tell where from, but I swear I've heard of this 'Dragon Roost Island'.

The king gave another knowing smile. "Maybe your bag holds a clue."

Link gave the boat a questioning look, but plunged his hand into his waist-bag and rummaged about. A second later, he took his hand out of the waterproof bag holding a familiar item. Quill's card. The boy's face went down like a lead balloon in disbelief. He stared at the grinning figurehead.

"How do you know about this? I got it before I was on the pirate ship!" Link waited for the boat's response.

"Isn't it handy, having me to know all of this?" Link was about to roll his eyes and sigh, but he realised that the king did have a point even if his method was very ambiguous, so he kept quiet.

"The Rito live here, including the postman that came to Outset yesterday. High atop the peak of this mountain lives the spirit of the skies. A great dragon called Valoo. You must visit this dragon and request from him a jewel called Din's Pearl." instructed the king.

"Wait, go back, go back! The Rito?" Link was absolutely gobsmacked. Just yesterday, he thought it was a miracle that he could talk to the Rito postman, but now he was about to visit the entire race!

"Yes, the Rito. I understand that this is very exciting and for you, I am happy." said the King of Red Lions in his calm voice.

" _Wait till I get home and Aryll hears about this!"_ thought the boy before his heart dropped all the way down as if it had turned into an anvil. _"Oh… I forgot."_

* * *

The two reached the beach and Link stomped on the sail button to retract it. As Link uneasily headed up the beach, the King of Red Lions called after him.

"Whoa, wait a minute! I forgot about something!"

When Link turned to face his boat, the king had something held in his wooden teeth. A little white stick.

"This is the Wind Waker. It is a baton that was used by the conductor long ago when people used music to pray to the gods. I know not if it still works, but if it does then you will need it." The boat let go of the baton and it dropped into Link's hands.

Suddenly, Link felt as if an entire gale was beating against him. Fists of wind punched him from all over and he thrashed left and right. A loud howling pierced his ears and his hat almost shot off. After what seemed like an hour but was just a second, Link dropped the baton to the floor.

"What on earth was that?" The boy took a step back in surprise. The king furrowed his brow.

"What was what? I didn't feel anything." Link could not help but notice that it looked like he was trying to hide a grin.

"Was that you? I just felt like the wind was going to send me flying all the way across the land!" Link eyed the boat suspiciously. He just gave a rather understanding smile. Wooden, but still sympathetic.

"Maybe you are just tired. You did wake up at six o'clock in the morning and it is now seven." The king sounded very genuine as he said this. No sign of sarcasm in his words. Still, Link could not believe his ears! Six in the morning and Windfall was already bustling! Seriously, I've heard of camping outside a shop but this is ridiculous!

"Your destination is just up the path and is about a quarter of the way up the mountain altogether. There, speak with the Rito Chieftain. I'm sure he will be happy to show you the way to Valoo." Looking up at the giant cloud circling the top of the mountain, the King of Red Lions gave a nervous sigh. "Something seems wrong about that cloud. It does not look natural in any way, shape or form. Please, be careful."

The boy followed his gaze. The clouds encircled the mountain like a halo. A very grey, vapour halo. "Do you think Valoo could have caused all of those clouds?" he asked the boat. The bearded vessel paused for a moment before lowering his head.

"He is usually a very kind and gentle dragon," started the boat, "but that may be accurate. On any other day, you can see him clear as day. Now, he's covered in clouds."

"So, what exactly is my destination?" asked Link. The king looked up at the mountain. "I cannot see it at the moment, but the Rito all live in a giant, hollowed out part of the mountain called the Aviary. If you follow the path all the way up the mountain and stick to it, you should pass through a tunnel next to a postbox. Once you come out of the tunnel, head along the boardwalk and it should lie just ahead.

"Got it! Thank you, sir!" Link saluted the boat before beginning his ascent up the mountain.

* * *

Now that he had more time to himself and wasn't being beaten up by the wind, Link could now inspect the Wind Waker more than his last glimpse. It was made of a non-reflective metal and was about as long as the lower half of his arm. The sides swirled around into fabulous coils to show where you're supposed to hold it. The tops of the coils had little rising areas that resembled waves in the ocean.

" _I wonder why the wind bullied me when the king gave this to me?"_ thought Link before a very selective gust of wind blew his leg over while he was walking on it. With a yelp, Link toppled to the rocky floor. He lay there for a few moments before letting out a yell of frustration.

Getting back up, Link hiked up the path giving cacti a wide berth and climbing over jutting rocks. If you were to go to this island, it would look like Mount Teide.

Anyway, Link kept traversing the path until it eventually snaked around the side of the island. As he sauntered across in wonder, he came across an obstacle. A giant boulder stood in his path. To the right was a large hill that lead straight back to where he came from. If he were to drop down to there and try to go around, a small landslide would probably send him whizzing into the sea below. To the left was a what looked like a farm. A large space had been cut into the cliff and a farm had been built. The crops were blue balloon-like fruits with a rope-like growth sticking out the top. The farmhouse was a shack that was probably thrown together in a day. The walls were made of tied-together mossy logs and the roof was just a giant sheet attached to the top. Link ran into the shack to try and find shelter from the now howling wind. Inside the shack was a table with severed segments of a tree as stools, a wooden slab on top of some rocks with a rug on top for a bed and two more rocks with a thinner slab of wood for a little desk. One thing in particular caught Link's eye, however. A worn diary lay open on the table next to an extinguished lantern. Link sat down, opened it, flicked through a few pages and started to read:

" _Yes! I have finally done it! Done am I with the life of a poor man! My invention of Bomb Flowers has made me rich!"_

" _Bomb Flowers?"_ thought the boy. Intrigued, he continued reading.

" _I finally grew them to perfection! Now, you no longer need to light the fuse! It does it for you when you pick it up! It even grows back a few seconds after you pick one! Isn't it just the BOMB?"_

Link didn't need to know any more. He had found out the answer to his predicament! He slammed the book shut, releasing a mushroom cloud of dust into the air. Coughing and spluttering from the detritus explosion, he ran outside, yanked out a fruit and hurled it at the boulder. The growth on top began to spark and it sizzled down into the fruit as it pulsed red and blue hurriedly before bursting in a big explosion, blowing the boulder to bits.

 **KABOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

* * *

Once the dust settled, bits of rock lay scattered across the path. Full of beans, Link hurried onwards, across the path and through a tunnel that lay just after a postbox.

"'A tunnel next to a postbox'! I'm nearly there!" Link walked through the tunnel as the wind stopped from the sides very abruptly. From the left wall, Link could hear a foreign language being spoken. From behind him, Link could hear a very repetitive noise.

 **Whuff, whuff, whuff, whuff, whuff, whuff…**

It was almost like the sound of a bird. Suddenly, a black shadow dove over him and skidded to a halt on the floor.

"I heard an explosion! Are you OK?" said the shadow, very loudly and quickly. The boy was more than a little surprised at his sudden appearance and volume. He jumped into the air like a cat on a hot tin roof.

" **MMMMPH!"** He let out a muffled cry as he stepped back.

"Oh, sorry. Did I scare you? Just wait there. I'll switch on the lights and make sure you aren't inj-"

Lamps above them flashed on with a press of a button on the wall. As light burst into the tunnel, the two knew exactly who each other was.

"Quill?" "Link?"

The two spoke in unison as their eyes widened.

"Oh, thank goodness you're safe! Is your sister OK? Where is she?" asked the postman, bending to Link's level. As for him, he just looked back the way he came.

"She's… still in the fortress. I couldn't save her. She's safe, but she's in a giant cell with two other girls. It does make me feel a bit better that she's OK, though."

"You know where she is? Then what stopped you from rescuing her?" Quill now seemed very worried. If Link knew his sister was safe and that she was in a cell with two others, how could he not have rescued her?

"Well, I got into the room and almost broke the cell door open, then that flamin' bird showed up at the worst possible moment and it got me."

Quill's jaw fell open as he stood all the way up and recoiled.

" **¡¿QUÉ?!** " he screamed. His shout echoed off of the walls and out both ends of the tunnel. His bag dropped to the ground, spilling a blizzard of bulletins into the air which fell to the floor like snowflakes. The voices on the inside of the left wall stopped immediately. There was stunned silence from the two for several long seconds. A shocked voice from inside the wall broke the silence:

"¿Que fue ese ruido?"

Quill cleared his throat and began picking up what he had dropped as Link got down to help. "Sorry about that, but the bird caught you? How on earth did you get out?" Link was rather hesitant to tell the story, but he could easily trust caring old Quill.

"Well, it showed me to this man in robes, I think he told the bird to kill me and it tried to do so by throwing me all the way to Windfall."

" **ALL THE WAY TO WINDFALL?** " echoed Quill. The voice from inside the wall sounded again.

"¡¿Otra vez?! ¿Quién está haciendo todo ese ruido?"

"How on earth did your hat stay on? Speeding through the air for two miles and hitting the water like that would usually knock it off!"

"It seems to fit me perfectly! I actually seem to have trouble taking it off sometimes! Anyway, the rest is that I was… recruited by a talking boat to… find the power to defeat… the man in robes… and he said… I need to speak with some dragon here to get the first step done." Link said that last sentence and looked as if he was just now finding that out.

"Ah, one problem with that. He is right about the dragon, but said dragon is having… difficulties at the moment." said the postman. He cringed as he said the last part. "Our chieftain may be of some help to you. He should be just up ahead in the Aviary. I'll lead you there. Follow me."

With that, the postman began walking to the Aviary. Link jogged after him. "What is the Aviary?" he asked. The postman got to the end of the tunnel and looked up and left.

"The Aviary is a part of the mountain where all the Rito live. We do all of the governmental practices, religious practices, all of that. All in there."

The boy caught up with Quill and followed his face. Sure enough, there was a boardwalk winding across the side of the mountain. This lead into a giant door, labelled by a large sign reading " **AVIARY** ".

"OK, you know where it is. I'll see you there!" Quill beat his wings and shot through the air, perfectly fitting through a giant hatch just above the doors. The metal flap swung back and forth like a letterbox in a door as he disappeared inside.

Link advanced along the boardwalk, looking at the sprawling landscape below him. He could see a winding stone beach circling the island. The bluer than blue ocean stretched further and further than the eye could see. Link was on the other side of the island, however, so he couldn't see any sign of the King of Red Lions.

The boy reached the giant set of doors and almost walked into them. He had been so absorbed by the scenery that he had forgot all about the fact that there were doors in the way of the Aviary. Putting all of his might on the doors, he opened them up and headed inside.

* * *

The inside of the Aviary was like a living, breathing world of its own. Rito were walking around carrying letters, laughter was coming from one of the upper rooms, there was talking going on, it was like walking into a train station for the first time.

The Aviary itself was shaped like the prison room in the Forsaken Fortress, albeit much more pleasant. It was tall, round and had a large ramp that spiralled up and up and up. The walls were not changed from when it was excavated, as they were made of the inside of the mountain. Doorways were winding off in several directions, including one that seemed to lead to nowhere. It also had a giant pane of glass that stretched up and up and up.

"Welcome to the Aviary!" said Quill, dropping down to the side of him. Link was fascinated. He wanted to know as much as possible about this place.

"So, do you all live here?" asked the boy, tilting his head.

"Well, not all of us. Some live in individual houses, but a lot of us live here. In fact, there are even more people here because we have a situation with our dragon, Valoo, at the moment. All of a sudden, he just started… writhing and roaring, spewing fire everywhere. The people who live outside are worried about being killed so they are residing in here at the moment."

Suddenly, Link felt guilty for being so happy about the amount of Rito. He just felt selfish. They were all here fearing for their lives, not because they just lived there.

Quill looked at Link's guilty face. "What? Oh, don't feel bad! I know that you're interested about the Rito!"

"Oh, OK. Where is the Cheiftain of the Rito, then?", asked Link, looking around to try and find him.

Quill pointed into the air. "10th floor!" Link watched as the ramp spiralled up and up and up. In shock, he took out Aryll's telescope and zoomed it all the way out as he looked up.

"Kidding! Even us Rito get tired of that ramp, so we installed a little something over there!" Quill changed the direction of his point to just past Link. Behind the boy was that same door from earlier. The one that lead to nowhere. The one with a giant glass pane stretching above it.

"Yeah, I was wondering what that was! What is it?"

Quill looked at the translation sign above the device. "We would call it an ascensor, but you would call it a lift. It's a little capsule on a giant pillar. Inside, there is a set of buttons that sends commands to a tall block of wood. The block will raise or lower the capsule to different levels." explained the postman. Link's jaw hung open. What kind of magic was this?

"Look, I'll show you."

Quill steered him and Link through the door. "We're going to the 10th floor, so we press this button here, like so..." Link reached up and pressed a black button amongst several others, labelled with a 10.

"There we go! You're getting it! I suppose it is kind of simple, but still!"

With a loud clank, the lift shuddered and started to rise. Link could not believe this was real. He HAD to have been dreaming!

The lift passed the first floor. "There's the cabins. This is where the people that live here go home to."

The lift rose up to the second floor.

"Ah, there's my work!" Quill pointed to an area on the second floor. It was a counter with a set of cubby holes behind it. Each hole was marked with a different emblem. "Our job is to match up seals on the letters with the emblems in the cubby holes." Link made a face of understanding, but then he had to do a double take.

"Wait, what? Seals?" he spluttered. Quill started laughing madly.

" **AH HA HA HA!** Sorry, I meant those stickers that you put on an envelope to shut the letter. I don't think a live seal would fit onto a letter."

Link snickered at the thought and looked at the Rito working away. One of them was hurling several letters into the cubby holes at fast speeds.

"¡Veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco! ¡SÍ! ¡Veinticinco letras!" cried the Rito as he dropped the remaining letters to celebrate. The Rito over the desk chimed in.

"¡Se supone que debes hacerlos coincidir correctamente, Eduardo!"

The throwing Rito began stomping on the floor, yelling in frustration.

" **AAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!** "

The lift rose up a few more floors. As it went up and up, Quill pointed out the church, the hospital, the smithy, the shop, the inn, the hotel, the cafè and finally, the lift stopped at the 10th floor. This floor held the meeting room.

Link was still pumping adrenaline from his trip in the lift. It was his first time in such a device and he was a little surprised that it was already over. He looked over the edge. He could see Rito jumping off the first floor and flying out of the hatch screaming "¡Volemos!" The boy quickly stepped back when he realised that there was no guard rail. Of course, since the Rito had wings, they didn't need to worry about falling.

"Yes, we plan to add a guard rail there, just in case." began Quill. "We will need you to sit in a meeting with us for a while so we can decide how to help you. Is that OK with you?"

Link nodded his head, determination on his face. No matter how long or boring a meeting it would be, he had to attend it if he wanted to get his sister back.

"Good! Now, in we go! Don't worry about the others, for I have told them about you."

Quill pushed the door open and the two stepped into the meeting room.


	9. Big Brother Reflex

Link and Quill walked into the meeting room. All the talking in the room immediately stopped as the big door swung open. In the room was a long table, surrounded by sitting Rito. It was so long that if you were sitting on the very end, you would need a megaphone to talk to the person on the other side. A very important looking gentleman with long, white hair tied into two hanging braids, a red, patterned apron and a serious disposition sat in the middle. He looked like he was performing in a Nativity play but forgot to take his beak off from his last performance at Swan Lake.

" _That must be the chief guy!"_ thought Link. Some of the Rito looked at him, then the person next to them. One alternated gazes between him and Quill.

"Creo que este es él." Quill said, gesturing to Link. The boy waved nervously, unsure of what was just said about him.

One rather hip teenage Rito turned around and stood up. "¡Ropa fresca!"

Quill cleared his throat and began speaking to the people in the meeting. "Todos, este es Link. Él es el chico del que te hablé antes."

Everyone started talking amongst themselves excitedly. The cheiftain also started talking, but he was speaking English.

"Ah, so this is the boy, is it?". The elder scratched his beard.

"Certainly. Link, Matías. Matías, Link." Quill bowed to the chieftain as he did. Like a monkey, Link copied his bow. A little charmed by this, Matías gestured the boy to the table.

"Take a seat here. We heard about you earlier and we can get something sorted out to help you, don't you worry."

* * *

Link stayed silent for most of the meeting. One reason was that he was brooding about his sister and the other was that everything was in the Rito's language. Link was too worried about cutting in at the wrong time to talk. He wasn't sure if they were at a point where he could pitch in himself.

"Ya sabes cómo es el príncipe. Él sólo ... Espera, ¿el chico está bien?"

"El está tratando de rescatar a su hermana, que fue agarrada por un pájaro gigante y ahora está atrapada en la Isla del Diablo. Es comprensible que esté triste."

"¿Qué le hizo venir aquí?"

"Ha venido a buscar la perla de Din. Creo que junto con los otros dos cumplirán su propósito."

With the last line, the whole party stopped dead. One man choked and nearly spat his drink out, another nearly fell of his chair. An elderly Rito smoking a pipe did not notice that the fire inside had gone out and was now puffing on an empty pipe.

"¡Necesitas un domador de leones para entrar allí!" shouted a Rito on the opposite table, trying to be heard from all the way over there.

"No más exageraciones," replied Matías, keeping cool. He turned to Link.

"Link." He started. The boy jumped to attention. "We have an idea."

Link sat up straight as the chieftain talked to him.

"I have… a son who currently possesses Din's Pearl. He is called Komali. Unfortunately, his grandmother recently passed. We do not know what caused her passing and Komali is worried that it may happen to him."

Link felt a little twinge of remorse. He knew that feeling of worrying about one's safety like that. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"He is overwhelmed with grief and fear, so he is rather cold and angry when we speak to him. He never comes out of his room and he won't go NEAR Dragon Roost Cavern. It is a rite of passage for a young Rito to brave the dangers of Dragon Roost Cavern and receive a scale from Valoo. This scale allows the young one to grow a pair of wings. Komali is now of age. Connecting the dots, if Komali keeps on like this, he will never receive his wings." explained Quill.

"I love my boy, but in various ways, he is... a weak pichón. It seems that, since you need Din's Pearl, you will be here for a while. Would you mind going down and trying to reason with him?" asked Matías.

Link just sat still at the table. The mention of a child had got Link thinking about Aryll again.

" _A whole island full of bird people! My sister would love it here."_

"Are you all right, niño?" asked Quill. Link shot up immediately.

"Oops! Sorry! I… drifted off. Don't worry, I heard you and I shall have a word with your son." announced Link. He got up and turned to leave as the rest of the Rito shared impressed looks with each other.

"Wait just a moment!" called Matías. The boy stopped and turned around. The chieftain was holding a brown envelope covered with patterns.

"You should not speak to him for long periods of time at risk of him losing his temper. I recommend that you keep chat to a minimum. Deliver this to him and then you can leave if things get a bit too ugly."

Link placed the envelope in his bag as Quill got out and began to leave with him.

* * *

Quill and Link headed out of the meeting room as the talking resumed. They walked over to the lift.

"I noticed that you seemed rather quiet during the meeting. Are you OK?" asked the postman. Link simply watched all the Rito flying out of the giant letterboxes.

"Yeah. I guess… I just realised how much my sister would like it here. I mean, she loves birds and this place is full of people with... bird stuff on them."

"Oh. I'm sure she would." The postman put a supportive hand on the boy's shoulder from behind. "Sorry about all of these meetings, but I need you to meet someone else. Not a sit-down meeting, but I just need you to meet another person. Don't worry. She's a sharp contrast from Komali at the moment. I think you'll get on well."

Link gave a smile. He had yet to see a female Rito. Granny had always told him that birds looked different depending on their gender and he was wondering if the same was true about the Rito.

Suddenly, a loud buzz and crunch punched through the air. The pair looked behind them. The lift was emitting sparks and smoke. The people queuing up to use it started flapping and shouting... stuff in their language that I can't put in the translations at the end, jumping off the edge and hovering to the floor instead.

"Ah, again? Sorry, Link, but since that is new around here, it always breaks down." groaned Quill. "I'll get the repairs on it but for now, you'll have to walk down the spiral."

"That's OK," replied Link. "At least I've only got to go down this time!"

Quill suddenly sprang to attention and looked at a crowd of repairmen marching up the stairs to the lift.

"Oh, there she is! MEDLI! MEDLI! HERE! THIS IS THE ONE!"

Just behind the repairmen, a Rito girl dropped behind and looked around to see where the sound was coming from.

"Yes? Who is it?" she called. Her voice was VERY different to the other Rito. It was very nearly like an Outset accent, which was very warm and friendly and made to specifically speak English. She ran up the spiralling ramp to where Quill's voice was coming from.

As she approached, Link got a better look at the girl. She was a bit skinny and her knee-length, conker coloured hair was tied into a long tail that flowed elegantly downwards. She was actually quite pretty, with very pale skin and red eyes that somehow did not convey 'take warning' in any way but what stuck out the most was her beak. Male Rito had beaks that looked like they belong to eagles but Medli's looked like it was from a large duck. She wore a plain blue dress bespangled with a red carpet stripe and a… strange emblem on the front. It looked like two of the letter C facing away from each other and another up-facing C on top. As Quill finished talking to her, her wings straightened and a warm smile lit her face.

"Oh, I say! You really do wear green clothes and an funny hat!" she said before clapping her hands over her mouth. Her skin boiled red. "Sorry, I should not have said that!"

Link smiled, slightly charmed and also amused. "It's OK, everyone thinks the same thing of it."

Medli calmed down with a few deep breaths. "The name's Medli. I am the direct attendant to Valoo. I've heard so many good things about you!" She outstretched a delicate hand for Link to shake.

"I'm… Link. Now that I think about it, my story sounds like something I dreamed up after a party." He shook her hand gently. Suddenly, the girl's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Um, yes… Well, you see-"

"¡Quill, Necesitamos tu ayuda!" shouted one of the workers.

"Oh, my goodness! It must be worse than we thought if they need me. Medli, take him to Komali's room, will you?" asked Quill. Medli bowed to him.

"Yes, I will do that! Come on, let's go!" With that, she turned and started advancing down the spiral. Link looked back at Quill and then at Medli. Finally deciding to not waste another moment, he trotted to catch up with Medli and then matched her speed. Medli looked down off the edge of the path and Link shyly placed his hands behind his back, feeling strangely timid at the moment.

"So, what was that story you were talking about?" Medli asked with interest.

Letting out a sigh of sorrow, the boy spilled the whole story. Medli's eyes got wider and wider until they were the size of drums. Her mouth opened wider and wider in horror as he got further and further into the story.

"Eventually, I got recruited by a... talking boat to get a pearl from this island so I could defeat… Ganon."

Medli's expression stayed in a state of shock before she looked down and closed her eyes slightly.

"You poor thing." she said softly and sincerely, putting a comforting hand on his arm. Link began to feel better immediately. Medli seemed like a very caring and gentle soul. In fact, he felt the need to change his manner of speech in case he startled her as if he was talking to a highly strung rabbit.

"Well, happy birthday for yesterday. I hope that softens things for you." As the two advanced down the spiral path, they drew closer and closer to the edge.

"That really makes things a lot better. Thank you so much." replied Link with a smile.

"Okay, so you see… about Valoo, he just… started acting up one day. Around that time, my teacher died of some unknown phenomenon. Komali thinks that this was the cause of Valoo's anger so he is just… shut in his room. He thinks that Valoo will kill him if he steps out of line."

Suddenly, Link felt more than a little bad for the guy. First he was worried about falling ill and dying, next he was worried about being struck down by the island's dragon! The one who was supposed to protect him!

"That's terrible. I understand why he's upset."

"That's… nice of you to say. Thanks for being open-minded about it. Whenever anyone else sees him now, they think that he is just a bratty half-pint and- **EEK!** "

Medli had stepped too close to the edge and was now quickly falling down, several floors up. Without any other thoughts other than when a similar thing happened to Aryll, the boy dove after her, grabbed her by the arm and heaved her back onto the path. Medli sat on the floor in a state of shock.

"Are you all right?" asked Link as he looked at her dilated eyes.

Medli looked at the wall as she spoke. "Yes. Thank you... How did you react so fast?" Link helped her up and they continued walking down, sticking close to the wall on the right.

"My sister liked playing on a high lookout. I'm used to doing that kind of thing. I suppose it's just a big brother reflex."

"Don't worry if that happens again. I have a set of wings, so I'm safe from falling. If I may ask... have you seen your sister since? Is she safe?"

The boy bit his lip as they approached the halfway point of the spiral. "I've seen her... I can only hope she's all right where she is... Bless her..."

They fittingly passed the church room as Link added the last part. Medli noticed his mouth tighten as if he had eaten a sour lemon. "Would you like to slow down and take a breather?" she offered, "Maybe we could talk about something to take your mind off it for a while?"

"Now that you mention it, how come I sometimes can't tell what people are saying here?" Link pointed to a bilingual sign. One line said 'Bar de José' and the text below it said 'José's bar'. "Like that first line there. Is that another way of speaking?"

"Oh, that!" Medli smiled a bit, able to explain this and feeling confident that she could cheer her new friend up. "Most Rito here speak Spanish, and it comes from a parallel world to ours. A country called Spain, mainly. The Rito that speak it have been here a long time, but the children are hatched elsewhere and can mostly just speak English."

The talk about the language barrier lasted just about until the pair reached a hallway that read 'La habitación del príncipe Komali' with the translation of 'Prince Komali's bedroom' beneath it. All the way, Medli talked about the basic grammar rules, how some letters sound different than how they are pronounced in English and she even taught him a few useful words that she had learned, despite being a beginner herself. It ended when they descended a set of stairs and arrived at a thick, wooden door.

"We're here. Good luck with the prince. Try not to get too offended or mad at him. He'll probably just sulk more." advised Medli, "Speaking of offence, sorry for my rudeness earlier about what you're wearing! Please forgive me!"

Link seemed pretty surprised by this. What was there to be offended about? "Medli, it's fine. This hat does look pretty funny and I found your description funny as well!" The boy gave her the biggest smile he could as Medli sighed in relief. "I actually had to wear it for my 12th birthday and only that day, but then… everything all happened and I left the island without changing. I've come to like it, though. On my island, it is tradition to dress up as the Hero of Time when you become the same age as his journey started."

"That sounds really special... but a bit annoying at the same time!" laughed the girl.

"You're right. I was baking into a Victoria sponge when I first wore it but it is a BLESSING when I'm up high. Now, I'll go and speak with the prince. Maybe he'll find comfort in talking to someone his age." Link said as he began to turn and go down the corridor to the prince's room.

"Okay, see you later!" The Rito turned and prepared to fly away. Attached to her back was something made of gold and wood. It was a small harp. The bottom was assiduously carved into the image of a face with a long nose. It had two wooden horns on the top with a bar across them holding the strings.

"Wow, that's a really nice harp." Link said. Medli spun around and took her harp off her back, eyeing it in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yes! Who made it? It looks like it must have taken a lot of work!"

"It belonged to Komali's grandmother. She pretty much raised me and we were very close, so this harp is all we have left of her. I'm not only an attendant to Valoo, but I also carry this harp as a tradition of this island. Valoo loves music, so a LOT of Rito carry instruments. I think you're the first to notice this!"

Link was very surprised. How on earth had no one noticed a gleaming harp?

"I'm sorry that your… your..."

"Teacher?" suggested Medli.

"Yes, that's it. I'm sorry that your teacher died. It must be pretty hard on you."

"Oh, that's fine! I'm doing just… fine… I wonder who she's gonna come back as..."

Link shuffled around, lost for words.

"I was… raised by my grandmother." Link revealed understandingly, "My parents went on a two-week ship holiday and precisely a week into it, their boat was sank by horrible waves at exactly midnight."

"Wait, 'precisely a week'? 'Midnight'? That's very eerie! Sorry for your loss... I never new my parents either. I can't remember them and there's nothing left of them now..."

"Shall I just..." Link paused and scuffed his boot on the floor, unsure of what to say about Medli's clearly hard life, "...talk to the prince?" He turned to enter the green door, which bore the mark of a scowling dragon face on the front, but he doubled back when he heard Medli make a panicked gasp.

"Please wait!"

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

The girl shyly looked to the ground, her hands placed over her harp. A nervous blush glowed on her pale face.

"I'm very sorry, but before you go, I was hoping to ask for… your help later on." she began. Link spoke in an equally hushed tone, flummoxed.

"Certainly." he replied. "Go for it."

"I hope this doesn't sound too daunting, but I need you to come with me to the entrance of Dragon Roost Cavern after you try to appease Komali. I promise, it won't take long."

"Right. I'll meet you out here in a bit, then." Link said, nodding.

Medli looked like she had just woken from a nightmare and realised she wouldn't have to face any consequences for stuff that happened in the dream. "Thank you so much! I've been worrying about asking that since my father told me about you!"

"Don't worry about it. I'll help anyone who gives the word."

"You're a saint... See you later!" With that, Medli spread her wings and, with difficulty, began to fly into the air. Pretty soon, she soared around the corner and back into the aviary.

"Right! Here goes!"

The boy headed into the doorway, turned left down a few short steps and ahead him stood a door with a skull emblazoned on the front. Link was about to find out if that decoration was telling as to what was on the other side.

* * *

 **Knock knock**

"Hello?"

Heavy breathing came from the other side of the door. "Who is it?" demanded a voice. This voice was young, a little royal sounding and had a rather scared tone.

"It's just… I got told to deliver a message to you. Can I come in, please?" called Link through the door. After a suspenseful pause from the other side of the door, it finally responded.

"Fine. Come in."

With a big creak for a small door, Link entered the room. An orange glow pierced through the cloth of a four poster bed. The boy noticed the shadow of a small figure with messy hair holding the source of light. He slowly slid open his cloth and peeked out at the visitor. Finally, he fully revealed himself. He had a naturally nervous look, scruffy white hair and a drooping beak. Breaking his mesmerised gaze with the orange light, Link looked straight at the prince.

"Are you Mr. Komali?" asked Link, pulling out his envelope and reading the name on the front.

"Who are you? Why are you here? What is that? Where did you come from?"

"Please, your majesty..." Link tried to use respectful terms to the prince, but he started feeling that he was overdoing it. "Your father sent me here himself. He wants me to deliver this letter and talk to you about your problems and also to deliver a letter from him to you."

"My grandmother died when Valoo went crazy! Coincidence? No! It can't be! She must have disappointed him somehow and- wait, what's this about a letter? From my father? Why can't he just tell me?"

"Look, just read this. Your father said that you may feel uncomfortable talking to an older person and that I might be a better person for the job."

Komali eyed the letter and narrowed his eyes as he concentrated.

"Let me see that!" with no warning, he had torn the envelope off the letter and read it as fast as he could. His eyes were whizzing left and right before in seconds, he had folded it into a paper plane.

"Easy for him to say, 'Be brave, Komali'! He doesn't have to fear for his life!" With that, he chucked the letter to the side. It glided through the air like a bird before wedging in his window. "Are you this 'Link' guy who was in the letter? Why are you in the letter, you nosy trout!"

"All right, no need to get offensive, now."

"And it says you are also after my pearl!" he shouted as he revealed a red, glowing pearl that he had hidden with his arms. It had a pattern that resembled whizzing wind.

"Wait, he put that in the letter? Sorry, I didn't know that you had-"

"Oh, a likely story(!) Grandmother wouldn't want me to let go of Din's Pearl! She said it keeps me safe! Do you want me dead? You little kleptomaniac! I bet you always want everything for yourself!"

"No, not at all! I'm sorry your grandma died! I already know the feeling of losing a parental figure! Two, in fact! Your dad just wants you to heal and go to get your wings!"

There was a long pause from the prince as his face went from anger to confusion.

"Heal? What's that supposed to mean?"

Link looked as understanding as he could. "Scars heal, Komali."

"No, they don't. My dad still has his scar from his first flight forty years ago!"

Link knew he should have expected the prince to raise his voice again, but it still shocked him somehow.

"Well… they fade, you stop feeling them and you start to need a magnifying glass to see them."

Komali stayed silent before he finally put his head down against his pearl. His face was empathetic.

"Look, just… please leave. I need more time to… think."

That didn't seem so bad at that moment. Link turned, went out of the room and slowly shut the door. He slumped against the wall, trying to drown out the sound of the prince crying that was coming through the cold walls. _"This must be how parents can feel."_ thought the boy. Maybe the prince was right about him wanting things for himself. After all, he had not hesitated to pick up that butterfly necklace back at the Forsaken Fortress, even though he was a door away from saving Aryll.

Thinking about her made Link start brooding again.

* * *

"Link!" came a familiar, friendly voice. Link jumped out of his skin. He was so deep in thought that he had become easy to scare. Medli was walking towards him excitedly, so the boy tried to smile to keep her mood up.

"Oh, sorry about that... Are you all right?" she asked, seeming very concerned.

"Yes… But never mind. I'm… fine."

"Hang on. Just come with me around this corner. I shall talk to you there."

Link followed the girl around the corner. Looking back at Komali's room to see if he was going to pull a turn, he finally retracted.

"So, how was Komali?" Medli asked hopefully, though she looked like she was aware of the answer. "Was he OK?"

All Link did was look down and sigh. Medli's face fell. "Are you all right? What did he do?"

"He didn't DO anything," replied the boy, "but he's still fearing for his life. He thought I came to steal from him. Needless to say, he doesn't trust me either."

Medli gave him a look of confusion and horror. "Oh, that can't be right. That can't be right at all."

She stared at the floor before she took a look at one of the doors. "Oh, the door's not being guarded! Now's our chance, Link! We should be going!" She took him by the hand and speed-walked through the unguarded exit.

* * *

As Link ran through the tunnel, he almost tripped due to Medli's sheer speed. Finally, they made it to the end into a very deep fissure in the mountain. The walls stretched up and up and up.

Two elevated grounds stood in the area. One was the part the children stood on and the other led to a path that Link could not see where it ended. Two large arches stood opposite each other on each ledge, held up by ropes. Drooping down the edges past the arches were several sticks of wood joined by a parallel set of ropes. It had obviously been a bridge at one point but it had unevenly broken. One side was longer than the other and that side was the one that attached to Link and Medli's platform. They would be able to reach them to climb back up, but not the other ones.

Wind was howling everywhere, blowing hot ashes around the place. Some landed on Link's face and instantly, he could feel it burning.

"Ow!" he yelped. Medli cringed.

"Sorry about this!" she said quickly, "I wouldn't have called you here if this wasn't so important."

Link tried to respond, but another flying ash nearly getting him in the eye encouraged him to take his shield off and use it as an umbrella for both him and Medli.

"Thank you," Medli added swiftly, "Are you wondering what you're doing here?"

Link stiffly nodded, but was wordless.

"See this place? It used to be a beautiful spring you would pass on your way to take on Dragon Roost Cavern. Visitors would bottle the water and take it home for sick loved ones... but look what's happened to it now." She waved into the small chasm, directing the boy's attention to a smouldering boulder that sat in a pitiful pool of bubbling, dirty water. "Valoo had another tantrum today and caused an eruption. Not only did it break this bridge over here, but it plugged the spring, so now no one can even swim across if they wanted to."

"Were there any casualties?" Link asked her, maneuvering his shield to protect her from a particularly large ash.

"Not today, but... did the chieftain tell you exactly what happened to my teacher?"

Link uttered a small, denying hum as he shook his head.

"That's because they don't know what really happened. All they heard was that she passed away... I witnessed what really happened."

After her pause, the girl shivered slightly. Link reassuringly laid his hand on her shoulder, prompting her to continue. "I was out on a walk... and I found a rockslide in the way. The teacher would get stressed from her work, bless her... and she needed some fresh air every now and then. Valoo kicked off..."

"Oh... no!" Link stuttered as his body went rigid. He winced, not sure if he could bear to hear the rest of it.

"I heard the rocks falling, went to investigate and found one of her feathers in the heap... My teacher didn't stand a chance."

Tears filled the girl's eyes. Link didn't know what to do, even though dealing with emotions was nothing new to him, but he tentatively extended his arm around her and gave her a comforting side hug.

"If only I'd went with her... I might have seen it before her and got her out of the way... Instead I was ungrateful for the time I could be spending with her and she died."

"You can't blame yourself for a rock slide, Medli." Link said. "You can forgive yourself. Valoo as well. It was an accident."

"Thank you..." Medli coughed for composure and shook her head. "But I didn't bring you here just so I had someone to tell. That accident spurred me on to try and help. In whatever ways I can. I've tried spending time with Komali but he's not one for company right now. I've tried working around the aviary, but there's little I can do. I just feel... worthless. I knew my teacher would have wanted this whole ordeal to end, so I decided to fly up there myself and see what was happening."

Link paused for a moment.

...

"But now you're back down here... and Valoo's still screaming his head off..." he murmured, "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I didn't." the Rito continued, "Someone else did. It was really windy up there, so I went to turn around and then a group of monsters shot an arrow at me!"

"Did it stab you anywhere? Does anyone else know? Please tell me, this could be serious!"

"Don't worry, it just barely grazed me... Look here."

Medli stepped from the protection of Link's shield and unraveled one of her dove-like wings. True to her word, there was only a small area where the feathers had been grazed off and the part under them had gone slightly red.

Link stepped closer to examine it. "That... is a small infection." He leaned over and pulled a travel med pack from his bag. "Here. I'll help you get rid of it."

Medli silenced herself and offered him her wing. The boy wordlessly pasted a disinfectant plaster over the bald spot, humming in satisfaction as he patted the edges down. The girl quickly flexed the wing, surprised at just how accurately Link had smoothed it down.

"Thanks a lot. Did you learn that one from having a sister too?"

"Stinging nettles, thistles, all the works. You were saying earlier?"

"Right... I need your help with getting across and going around... the long way. I'm going to climb up the mountain through Dragon Roost Caverns so I can get past the monsters and talk to Valoo."

"W-what?" Link said, more strongly than he intended. He even startled Medli a little, so he swiftly calmed himself. "Medli, you can't go there. What if Valoo starts an earthquake and caves the caverns in while you're in there? You'll be killed!"

"Link, I have already decided my fate. As Valoo's attendant as well as Komali's, I must protect him and the Rito! I can even understand a few phrases in Hylian so maybe Valoo will listen to me."

"Medli, really, it's too dangerous for you to go alone. You have no weapon. I shall go with you."

The Rito attendant waved into the chasm again. "But look in there. The last eruption broke the bridge and the other plugged the spring. The only way to get across is by flying. That's your cue."

Link joined her at the railing, looking at the water trying so hard to escape and fill the chasm. "What do I have to do?"

"I was hoping you'd give me a boost over so I can make it..." Medli finally got to delivering her request, looking down timidly. "I've tried jumping from as high as I can, but the wind keeps throwing me into the wall before I get there."

"But... why me in particular?"

"I can't let any of the other Rito know... I don't want to lead our army in after me and put all them in danger too. If I ask anyone else for help... they would no doubt tell the Chieftain or Quill."

"But that's the very man who asked me for help." Link said, seeing no other option than increasing his firmness. "Why should I not tell him myself?"

The girl squeaked and almost backed off the edge. There was a tense moment of silence that hung in the air incongruously with the shrieking and roaring winds and embers.

...

...

...

"...Because you wouldn't do that to me, Link. You're a kind person... understanding, helpful... I trust you, Link." As if losing all her hope at being rejected, she hung her head and her voice started failing on her as she spoke. "I can't just sit around like a lemon while everyone pulls my weight..."

Link nearly protested again, but he likened her troubles to how he felt in the foreign meeting. Like a chocolate teapot. Useless. Worthless. Ineffectual.

"All right."

Medli raised her head, a big, hopeful smile on her face. "Y-yes?"

"I'll help you."

She slid forwards and gratefully gave him a big hug. "Thank you... Thank you!"

When she stepped back, Link, having not expected that, awkwardly brushed his hair leftwards. "Not a problem. What do I do?"

"Stay with me here... I need you to stand at the arch where the bridge used to start and throw me."

"Isn't that... really dangerous?"

"I'll be fine... Remember, Link?" Medli leaned forwards, hands joined behind her back. "I trust you."

The boy looked between her and the other side of the bridge, sighed and then crouched at the wooden arch. "Right you are. Climb onto my shoulders, OK? I'll try my best."

Link found himself concentrating intensely to avoid rocking as the girl climbed gracefully onto his shoulders like a swan and he heard the pleasing sound of her beautiful wings stretching out. When she was secure, he held onto her lower legs to aid her.

"Now, I'm going to run forwards and let you go at the edge. Then fly as hard as you can, all right?"

"Got you!" Medli responded loudly over the wind. Link waited for the ashes to blow towards the destination and when they lined up, he stood, reversed and for a brief moment they looked like a performing pair of trapeze artists at the circus before Link sped forwards like he was launching a boat into the ocean and let Medli's legs go.

"Now!"

On his mark, the girl took off, soaring clean over the ravine like a jet. The only mistake she made was a slight falter at the very end, but she unsteadily landed on the other side. Link climbed down the broken wood of the bridge, running over to the other side.

"Link! Thank you so much! I really appreciate this!"

"Just doing my job." Link replied humbly. He made a gesture that looked like he was zipping his mouth shut. "And my lips are mum. I won't tell a soul about your expedition."

Medli fumbled around her person, searching for something. "I don't have much to offer you in return... but take this for helping me. If this spring ever gets back to normal, you can fill it up with water!"

The boy barely had any time to react to what was falling towards him, but the only thing Medli had on her... was a single bottle... She could use it to hold drinking water and she was giving it to him... when it was all she had.

"Medli, wait!" Link called after her, but by this point she had disappeared into the depths of the cavern. The wind swooped in and stole the calls of the boy, leaving any attempt at calling her back useless...

Link gazed into the bottle, only seeing his regretful face staring back at him.


	10. Dragon Roost Cavern

Link sat on a rock at the bottom of the shallow crevasse, now brooding about two people. Medli was now trapped in Dragon Roost Cavern with no weapons or water. Unless she planned on taking her harp off her back and bonking some monster over the head with it, she was completely and utterly stuffed.

"This is all my fault..." he moaned, "Why did I let her go in by myself? Why did I let her give me her only way of carrying water? If she is found dead... I'll never forgive myself."

He briefly considered going and telling Quill or the Chieftain, but then he remembered what Medli told him concerning that matter...

...She trusted him. He promised her he wouldn't. This was a job for him and him only.

The boy jumped up and looked around for anything that could help. The wind spat hot ashes in his face and bellowed off the walls, but Link was not affected. He climbed to the platform that led to the Aviary for a better view. From here, he had a very clear view of the boulder that stopped the spring filling up. If that wasn't there, he could easily swim across. After all, swimming is essentially flying through much thicker air.

But how would he do something like that? Lift it over his head and hurl it into space? Link took a step forward to take a closer look at his surroundings.

 **CRUNCH.**

The boy jumped back as something made a loud noise underfoot. A few withered plants lay at his feet. They were brown and crinkly and they looked like they used to be blue before they wilted. Link had a funny feeling about them. Like he had seen them somewhere before. As he thought about what they were, he looked down at the water bubbling out of the boulder in the pit.

Link had a plan. Racing over to the puddle surrounding the boulder, he scooped up a bottle full of water. What he had in mind was to put some spring water on the plants that were growing up above and then see if they could help in any way. He climbed back up the broken bridge and removed the cork from his bottle.

" _It's a long shot..."_ Link thought as he poured the water evenly over the five plants. True, it was a long shot but here's the thing:

 **IT WORKED. IT ACTUALLY WORKED.**

Steam and sparks hissed from the plants as the flowers on the sides straightened and the fruit itself grew into the air. That's where Link could tell why these plants seemed so familiar.

They were Bomb Flowers.

"Yes!" Link immediately thought of the second part of his plan. Without hesitation, he picked up a bomb flower and tossed it at the boulder in the middle of the chasm. The bomb perfectly landed on top of the boulder as the fuse burned down. It disappeared into the fruit as it throbbed red and blue like an injury in a cartoon.

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

Shards of rock flew into the air as a giant geyser blasted upwards like a water feature. Slowly but surely, the spring began to fill with water.

"Yes! It worked!" exclaimed Link as he watched the water rising. Now... he just had to wait.

And wait...

...and wait...

and wait...

The boy was right. The water was only coming out of a small tunnel in the floor at a rather slow speed. It was like waiting for a single-tap bathtub to fill.

He waited

and waited

and waited

and waited

and waited.

After what felt like days but was really 10 minutes, the water finally rose to a point where Link could climb the slightly higher part of the broken bridge that he couldn't before. He went into the middle of the arch that once held up the bridge, clamped his nose shut, made sure to shut his mouth as tightly as possible and dove into the water.

Link knew that this was to be expected, but the water hurt. Extinguished ashes caused the water to sting his eyes, the water was pushing him around because of a current caused by the wind, grabbing the edge of the fallen bridge was now a shot in the dark, literally.

Link swirled around and around and around. He was hitting broken rocks, planks of wood, dust was cramming into his eyes, it was absolute torture. Then, Link felt his hand whizzing across something cylindrical and jagged. Gripping it, he painfully forced his eyes open and he found himself gripping onto the bridge on the other side. Using all of his strength, he swayed up the planks of wood and sprawled on the floor at the top... Free at last.

Now was no time to rest, though. Link got up and headed down the path that Medli disappeared down, rubbing his eyes clean.

" **MEDLI?** " called Link. The wind swooped in, stole his words and carried them off in the other direction once again. Calling her was no use. She was probably deep within Dragon Roost Cavern and the wind was so loud, shouting for her wouldn't do anything.

Link unsheathed his sword and headed down the path until it seamlessly transitioned into a cavern.

Dragon Roost Cavern.

* * *

The first room was some kind of shrine. A calm, rock-walled room with pillars against the walls and a set of three statues up about four steps. The statues were calm, spiky heads atop box-shaped pedestals. On the wall behind them were snaking paintings of green, long, smiling dragons. The boy looked around for any sign of Medli.

Nothing.

"How did she get through this room?" Looking around the shrine, he walked up the stairs to the statues. There was a small depression in the ground where the statues went. The one on the right was secured by a rock formation and was covered in moss, but the one on the far left seemed different. There was a small extension to the depression in the floor that allowed the statue to… be moved.

" _Aha!"_ Link wrapped his arms around the pedestal of the left statue and, pulling with all his might, he moved it back as far as he could. Now the left statue was a little closer to him. Checking behind it, Link found… nothing.

"Drat!" he exclaimed. "Medli must have come through here! I saw her go in!"

Link stared at where the far left statue once was. Now that it was out of the way, the middle statue could easily fit in its spot.

Link tried to click his fingers in understanding, but remembered that he never learned how to do that. He rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the spikes of the middle statue. He dragged it into the original spot of the left statue.

"Now for the moment of truth..." Going a little slowly, Link went back to the front of all the statues. Sure enough, now there was a small arch that led further into the cavern. It had been hiding behind the middle statue.

"Yes!" Link walked through the arch and was blasted by an intense ray of heat. The next room was a lot hotter. Link was in an alcove that stuck out into a large cavern that glowed bright orange. Pillars of lava were shooting in the air and Link was pretty sure he could hear talking. Through the wobbling air, Link saw two monsters talking indistinctly. When they were done, they both nodded. Then, they did something that... eerily impressed Link.

\- First, one of them picked up a large jug and waited for one of the massive lava geysers to settle.

\- Then, when it did, the monster threw the pot off the edge and into the lava. The ice cold water inside cooled part of the lava into obsidian.

\- Both of the beasts proceeded to throw themselves off the edge and onto the obsidian island they just created.

\- Next time the geyser launched, both monsters were launched through a hole in the ceiling, the island protecting them from injury. When it came down, none of them were on it.

Link wobbled a little. All this heat was doing him no favours. The boy looked to the left. In the corner sat a large white and blue pot patterned with little raindrops. The same one the monsters threw into the lava. He moved as slowly as he could so as not to give himself away to anyone else that may have been around and wobbled it a little. Water lapped on the inside.

" _Great! I'm gasping!"_ Link drank about half the pot before putting it down and leaving the rest for later. "That language did not sound like what Spanish sounded like..." Link whispered to himself. "I'll keep how that one sounds in my head so I won't let a single one of them catch me off guard and-"

Suddenly, a hand closed around his shoulder. "Hey!" came a voice behind him.

" **MMMPH!** " Link gave a muffled shout of alarm, jumped up and yanked his sword out of his sheathe. Behind him was a familiar face. A drooping beak, messy white hair and…

It was Prince Komali, wearing full-body leather armour.

"Oops!" said Link, hurriedly sheathing his sword.

Komali stared at him in wide eyed horror. "Did you just try and-"

"Look, I thought I'd been caught, OK? You scared me. What are you doing here?"

Sweat beaded at Komali's forehead. "Well, I heard Medli say that she wanted you to go with her to the entrance of Dragon Roost Cavern." started Komali.

"She did." confirmed Link, nodding his head.

"This place is dangerous and when I had processed enough, I decided to go and try to go with her. I can't just let her get killed like this! When I got there, dirty water was everywhere! I had to stand on a plank of wood and row over to the other side! What are you doing here?"

Link looked over at the cavern for any sign of Medli. "Same reason as you. I remembered what Quill told me about the dangers of this place and came in to try and find her."

"Can you see her?"

Link shook his head when he was certain no one else was around, but he noticed that Komali's voice was shallow and dry. To change the subject, he dragged the half-full pot of water over.

"Here. Drink the rest of this. You need to stay hydrated."

The prince looked at the water and then at the boy. Finally, he took it and drank some of it. "Thank you." he gurgled over the sound of pouring water. "Let's go around this place and see if we can find Medli anywhere."

* * *

Ten minutes of sweeping rooms of the cavern, as well as the room Link had been spying on, showed no sign of Medli. The children clattered over the bridge, both holding their ears from the roaring geyser of lava that erupted every twenty seconds, and ended up on the platform the monsters were on earlier. Standing on it for himself made Link remember what they did and instinctively looked up at where the geyser had melted a hole in the ceiling. In the space above, he noticed the very top of a cave. He could just about see the blue sky shining through.

"Where is Medli?" Komali puffed, "Where is she?"

"Calm, calm." Link gently told him. He gestured to the hole in the ceiling. "We haven't looked up there yet."

Komali briefly took a look up into the cave above him, seeing that it led outside, but he also looked like he had no idea how to get up there. "How will we-"

 **FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

The geyser interrupted him and both boys held their ears tightly until it stopped. When it did, Link tried to nodded down at where it was coming from. "That's our ticket down there! You weren't here when I saw it, but a few guards dropped by earlier. They got up their by throwing one of those water pots over there into the lava..." he pointed at one of the water jugs at the side, "...If we do that, we can follow them."

"That sounds really dangerous." Komali said.

"It's our only chance. The monsters got up just fine. Who's to say we can't?"

The prince looked into the lava once more and then up at the hole. Wordlessly, he took the handle of a nearby water jug and Link grabbed the other. "On the count of three, OK?" Komali declared. Link began to swing the handle back and forth, as did Komali.

"Three... two... one... go!" In time with Link's count, both of them let go of the handles. The jug tumbled through the air and shattered in the lava below, just over where the eruptions kept happening. Right on cue, the bubbles started frothing and rumbling underneath it, threatening to blast it up into the ceiling without them. "That's not going to last long." Link observed. "We'd better get on right now."

Link was the first to go, taking a running start and jumping the short way down to the obsidian island. It tilted and rocked startlingly under his weight, but Komali landed on the other side and balanced it.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

The sound of them being shot upwards was like a rocket taking off. It definitely felt like it. They were shoved to the floor from the G-force and the heat was fast approaching the "too much to bear" level, but the geyser screeched to a halt, leaving both boys disoriented for a few seconds.

"Link, hurry! We're there!"

The boy snapped to attention at the prince's voice and rolled onto still land. Behind him, the island collapsed, tumbling back into the lava.

Now that they were in a quieter area, Link could hear the unmistakable sound of beating drums coming from outside the walls. He and the prince were inside a cooler cave with a sandy floor, but the wall had a large crack in it, allowing light and sound inside. From here, the children could hear something in the middle of the howling wind.

Cries for help.

"Is that… Medli?" Komali asked hopefully.

"I hope so… but I also hope not." Link tried stretching around the side. "She really sounds terrified."

"We need to get moving and find her. And fast!"

With that, Komali took off as fast as he could. Link just turned away for a moment and by the time he looked back, Komali was out of the caves and racing down a sandy outcropping, dashing up a loose set of stone stairs up the side of the mountain.

"Your Highness! Wait!"

* * *

Outside the cave was cold and windy. Link clamped his hand over his hat as he sprinted after the running prince up the stairs and kept his other hand on the side of the mountain, untrusting of the lack of a guard rail on the edge.

Suddenly, something in the thick clouds at the mountain's peak let loose an ear-piercing howl. Massive wings boomed as they were beat furiously and fists thumped thunderously against the sides of the volcano. Valoo… Link couldn't see him, but all the racket told him that the dragon was the size of seven houses stacked.

 **KERRRR-ACK!**

The earth-shaking tantrum from above shook something loose from the side of the mountain. Like an avalanche, rocks and earth slid down the side towards the unaware Prince Komali.

"Komali!" Link shouted, but the rockslide drowned him out. Seeing no other solution he ran even faster, pushing himself until his muscles burned, and tackled Komali at the top of the staircase, knocking them both to stable ground as the slide rumbled past, just missing them.

The prince's breath shook momentarily. "Th-thank you. That was Valoo…. It's horrible. He sounds terrified."

"That sounded more like a noise of pain to me." Link replied. "He might be under attack."

Komali wondered under a wooden gate that hung above a doorway and into an open-air arena with a round, terra-cotta circle built incongruously into the floor. There was a wooden jail cell built into an alcove in the back. In this cell was a brown-haired, pale Rito, standing helplessly at the bars.

"Medli!" Komali called, running over to her. Link followed, glad that he hadn't sent her off to her death after all.

"Boys?!" Medli croaked suddenly. Her face was rather dirty and her hair was slightly frazzled, but she didn't look like she'd been treated to awfully… yet. "What-?"

"Medli, don't worry. We're gonna get you out of there. Stand back." Link spoke up, taking Trusty Rusty and preparing to smash the door in.

"No! Don't!" Medli responded fearfully. "You two need to escape… I got myself into this mess. I don't want to drag you into it."

"Nonsense!" answered Link, "I was the one who threw you to the entrance. What's the worst that could happen if I broke these bars?"

Medli felt helpless to say anything as Link backed away to smash in the jail cell with Trusty Rusty. When he reached the terra cotta circle, a loud clatter sounded behind him and he almost stepped on nothingness. He flailed and gasped, tipping back into the circle that opened behind him until Komali sped over, grabbing the front of his tunic and pulling him to safety.

"What the-?" Link turned. The terra cotta circle was no more. A round hole was now in its place and it held a drop. It was a pit, swarming with…

…

 **THINGS.**

They were all the colour of charcoal with long, segmented bodies. Their lower halves glowed with heat and they had several dozen legs like centipedes. Each of them had one vibrant, electrical blue eye at the front, flanked by long, sword-like mandibles. They all crawled over each other and chattered like ants.

"Thank you, Komali." Link breathed, "What are those things?"

"Magtails." responded the prince. Then he let out a gasp. "Look! Over at the entrance!"

Two green Bokoblins had ran into the enclosure while Link was backing up and pulled a lever, closing off the exit and opening the circle of death simultaneously, wielding jagged, worn machetes.

"Your highness!" Link said to Prince Komali, "Stay back, I'll handle this."

Before Komali could protest, Link threw himself at the two with a yell. Komali and Medli both watched in awe, new to his fighting skills, as they watch Link vanish into a green and blonde blur, clashing blades with the enemies and covering his blind spots well. When one of them took a swing from behind, Link thrust his elbow back and knocked it off balance and then smoothly continued fighting the other. The pair of Rito had to admire his agility. They both whooped when Link threw a rough stab at the first where it fell to the floor, dead.

The second one seized its chance, rushing forward and slashing at the boy. This time, he wasn't fast enough and a small cut opened on his arm. Aside from a yelp, this seemed to drive Link further on. He countered, throwing the swordsmonster off balance and using his shield to bash it into the pit, where it was immediately swarmed and drowned out by snapping sounds.

"Link, you did it!" Komali cried with excitement. Before Link had a chance to reply, they all heard the nails-on-chalkboard sound of a calling bird and flapping wings. Before Link's eyes, an avian monster that bore too much of a resemblance to his sister's kidnapper flew overhead carrying a monster in its claws. As it was dropped and thumped the floor with an almighty boom and a cloud of dust, the boy saw it was the same kind as the ones patrolling the Forsaken Fortress. He used only his massive fists for combat, but Link knew not to underestimate him.

After a brief pause, Link threw himself at the Moblin but he didn't count on him grabbing his arm out of the air, taking his sword and throwing it across the arena. Komali screamed and ducked as it cleaved the air and slammed into the wooden jail bars, stuck fast.

The Moblin threw a kick, prompting Link to roll back and tackle him to the floor. The porcine beast growled and seized Link's face tightly, kicking him back while he was occupied with the first attack. The boy rose to his feet and put his shield on his back, ducking a big hook and responding by punching the enemy in the side and responding with four hooks of his own to the face.

 **Pfft!** " **Nngh!** " **Thump!** " **Argh!** " **Thwack!** " **Oof!** " **Biff!**

He tried to throw a fifth. As his fist went out, the Moblin caught it once again, blocking a captive strike with his forearm. Then he manoeuvred around to Link's back, bending his arm with it. Link grunted painfully, but he outright yelled when his foe punched him in the back, almost sending him careering into the pit of stag monsters.

Suddenly, he threw his elbow back, taking the Moblin off guard and staggering it back. While it recoiled, Link threw hard punch after hard punch, the first with both fists cupped together. Still, the Moblin intercepted the fourth with ease, pounding him to the floor.

 **BOOM!**

"Aargh!"

Sighting a log on the floor, Komali grabbed it and dragged it across the floor as he ran to the pig, who had advanced on the boy, grabbed him very painfully by the ear and pulled him to his feet so he could continue pummelling him. "Hey, you!" he called. "Leave him alone!"

He raised it over his head and bought it down as hard as he could manage. His strength yielded little damage, only lightly bonking him, and this was sufficient as a distraction. As he turned, Link threw his fist once more. It struck his nose, separating his hand from the boy's ear but all he managed to do was anger the monster. He kicked back with one hoof, knocking Komali back.

"Agh!"

"Komali!" Medli cried out.

Then, he launched a haymaker into Link's side and finished off by knocking him down for the third time by punching his shoulder downwards. He seized the back of his tunic and tossed his hat off, which landed near the stunned prince. The Moblin hauled Link back up by his hair this time, who was powerless to break his grip. Popping the joints in his fingers, he blasted Link down, this time hoping for it to be the last. As the panting, gasping boy crawled back, his opponent marched towards him to throw him to the stags… but Link found the log Komali had dropped earlier.

He took it in a swift grab and swung it around like a flail, smacking the monster in the side.

 **BOOF!** " **Argh!** "

He then hefted it into his leg, making him buckle onto one knee.

 **BASH!** " **Ow!** "

While its face was in range, the boy kicked it as hard as he could. The Moblin wobbled back, flailing his arms in circles and baring his teeth in surprise. Medli and Komali both winced at the two times Link hit him with the log, but they outright **CRINGED** when he swung it back for an overhead swing, smashing it over the beast's head and sending splinters of wood everywhere.

 **CRUNCH!** " **Oof…!** "

Discarding what remained of the branch, Link threw two hooks as hard as he can.

 **Bash! THWACK!**

After the first two, the Moblin seemed to grin at him as if he was completely out of his mind, blood seeping over his mouth. Finally, the boy finished the job with two more, using so much energy that he turned himself around with the last.

He pointed back to see the Moblin, face blank and detached, lips drenched in blood, swaying dazedly. He leaned forwards, Link put his fists up reflexively, but then he tumbled back, straight into the hole of Magtails.

There was a beat as Link looked inside. All of the beasts chattered, mistaking the Moblin's fall as an attack against them. Link watched in absolute horror, slowly lowering his fists as they engulfed the enemy.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!** "

They completely swarmed him until his body was completely invisible. Only his battered, screaming face was noticeable underneath as they crammed down his mouth as well.

His screaming faded into a dying gurgle from the deluge of Magtails pouring down his throat as they dragged him to one of their nests.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaarrrhgfghfgfgfhdgbfhgh…** "

Link's face fell empathetically. Even if he wanted to look away from it all, he just couldn't. He was confined to the sight of the pig gradually stopping responding at all before he was dragged headfirst down one of their nest holes. Only then did he go to the lever at the door and push it up, closing the pit and opening the door back out.

* * *

"Medli?" Link asked, pulling Trusty Rusty from the jail bars. He began sticking it into the padlock at the door, trying to pick it open. "Are you all right?" Before she could answer, there was a click and the padlock fell to the floor. At the same time, the door shot upwards.

The girl, shaking from all of what happened, smiled, ran out and embraced Komali and then went to give Link a big hug too.

"Thank you..." She muttered into his tunic, "You both fought really well..."

"True..." Komali stuttered in exhaustion, "...but I wouldn't even be out of my room if Link hadn't come here."

"And I couldn't have got all the way here without you, Komali." Link said. Medli stepped back and looked up near the peak of the mountain.

"I may not have gotten far before I was caught... but I know why the great Valoo is so angry now."

On cue, the clouds disappeared from the top of the mountain. The top was flat, and on the surface was a pile of giant logs fashioned into a massive nest. A red-scaled dragon with a cream coloured belly sat in there as if it were a royal throne. His face was blue and red like a mandrill and his short arms clamped the sides of the mountain as if he had slipped too far down and gotten stuck. He either had no tail or it dropped down inside the volcano.

"Wow, he's beautiful..." Link crooned in amazement. Medli looked at him with contradiction.

"You may think that now, but just wait until he-"

Medli was about to say 'erupts into earth-shattering outburst' but suddenly, Valoo shattered into sea-partingly noisy wails. His fists pounded the sides of his perch and he beat his wings, apparently to try and escape. It was as if his tail was bound to a chain inside the volcano.

"What was that all about?" Link finally said when he prised his hands from his ears.

"That's what I was going to say. Something in the room directly below him is attacking his tail and causing him pain and that's only the beginning. If this keeps up, Dragon Roost will erupt randomly with no warnings."

Komali joined in. "I wonder how much time we all have to evacuate before that happens."

Silence fell over the group. At least until Valoo started screeching like a smoke detector once more. Link took the situation in. Medli and Komali were both devoid of any weapons. They could never beat what was in there in what little time they had. It pained him to accept it, but he knew what he had to say next.

"You two go and tell everyone what's happening." Link calmly told the Rito. "I'm staying here and as long as that monster is alive, I'm not coming back down."

His friends gasped and then immediately began to argue against it.

"No! Please don't! That's ridiculous!"

"You can't! You'll get killed!"

"Please reconsider! Don't go in there!"

Link stood straight and put his hands behind his back. He felt like he was cutting paper and the scissors had started gliding. He was in a tough spot before, but he now knew exactly what he was saying. "If I beat the monster, then your island won't become a molten mess. If I die in there... at least I'll have delayed it for a while. I've already seen a few deaths today. The least I can do is make sure there will only be one more and then no more."

The volcano made a loud banging noise as the monster inside burst out the lava and sent Valoo into hysterics once more.

"But-" Komali stuttered.

"You should get going. Before anything happens to you up here."

"...All right." Komali finally gave in. "Come on, Medli. Let's find a way out."

"One moment." Medli reached into the little bag at the side and pulled out a nylon rope with a four-pronged claw at the end of it. "Link, this is a grappling hook. The monster is in that pit the Bokoblins tried to throw me into, so... it may come in handy for that."

Link smiled and hugged her, noticing that she was tearing up slightly. Five seconds later, he turned to Komali and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Your majesty, if you don't hear from me in a day... then please can you try and help my sister in the Forsaken Fortress?"

The prince hugged him. "I will! I promise I will!" Finally, Medli took Komali's hand and began to lead him through the stone arch that went back down the mountain, leaving Link to explore it for himself.


	11. Burned Toast

Now that Link was all alone, with only Valoo's agonised roaring for company, the boy wondered inside Medli's old jail and had a think on how to get any further.

The stone arch that Medli and Komali went through led back to safety. He wanted to consider going back on what he had said earlier but he promised to fight that monster. He just couldn't bring himself to break it.

There was a bare table with stools in the cell as well as a stool off in the corner… Maybe there was a switch somewhere.

 _"I always find…"_ Link thought, sinking into a stool at the back, _"…that if I sit down and have a good think…"_

 **CLICK!**

Suddenly, the stool rocked back against the wall and revealed a mechanism under one of the legs. Before the boy could get off, the wall behind him crumbled and he rolled painfully down a thin passageway.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

For a moment, he thought his short life was already burning to a crisp. He could see the burning orange colour right at the end… This was a trap! Designed to throw anyone looking for secrets into a boiling pool of lava!

 _"This is the end!"_

But no, of course it wasn't the end. We still have 25 more chapters to get through! The slide ended and the boy found himself lying face down on a floor covered in ash like sand at the beach.

* * *

The room was large and domed. The walls were made of rock and the floor of black sand. A large, circular pool of lava lay in the middle of the room, bubbles hissing from it like a pizza in the oven. Wooden boardwalks jutted out from the walls.

Groaning from pain, Link stood, finding his hat a few feet from him. Dusting it off, he placed it back on his head and then brushed his clothing to rid it of the ash.

If this was the monster's room, that must have meant that she was in here somewhere. Especially since Valoo's long, hooked tail was protruding into the cave.

Suddenly, the whole room started to shake. Waves rippled from the pool of lava ahead of him. The rumbling got closer and closer and closer to the surface of the pool as the magma frothed and bubbled like a soft drink after being shaken. Link wobbled at the force of the shaking room as suddenly, a giant figure cloaked by lava rose out of the pool like a shark. Globules of lava shot towards Link as he dodged, ducked, dipped and dived out of the way. As the lava slid off of the snarling shape, it turned its massive, single eye onto the boy.

The monster raised its head into the air and shot a jet of fire upwards with a horrible shriek, shaking the rest of the Lava off and torching Valoo's tail. Valoo let out a deafening blast of pain, almost as loud as the monster.

"You've been torturing Valoo, have you?" Link took his sword and shield off his back. "I won't stand for this!"

The foe snarled as it eyed up its latest prey, claws clacking and mouth drooling magma.

She was the massive, molten majesty of the mountain.

 **QUEEN GOHMA.**

With all of the lava off of the Queen, Link could see that she looked like a giant centipede x stag monster combination. She had many legs and body segments, also bearing resemblance to a scorpion. She had a tough looking exoskeleton, so Link's sword would likely not have any effect. Upon even closer inspection, she looked exactly like the statue in the main room.

"What do I do here?" mused Link, but as he was deep in thought, the Queen raised a giant pincer into the air. That pincer probably was probably sharp and powerful enough to shear a sheet of metal clean in two with no effort. Link glanced at the looming threat before he dove out of the way.

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The impact shook the ground and sent Link involuntarily bouncing into the air.

The Queen growled, lifting her claw out of the ground and leaving a large furrow where it had landed. Link looked around the room for anything that could be damaged. His eyes focused on her electric blue one.

Link knew exactly what to do. Taking his grappling hook out and trying to crack it like a whip, he whirled it around and hurled it at her eye. A massive eyelid slammed shut, deflecting the attack.

"I have to get rid of that pesky armour!" panted Link. He looked around the room to consider his options, but there was nothing near hard enough to break through her defences.

The monster raised her claw into the air with a piercing screech once more. Link clamped his hands over his ears and ran out of the way as fast as he could, hiding behind a giant boulder her previous smash had knocked from the ceiling, bathing in his new inconspicuousness.

Instead of slamming her pincer down, Gohma started clamping on Valoo's snaking tail. The dragon roared in agony as Gohma bit it, clawed at it, swung it around and slashed at it like a cat playing with a ball of wool.

" _It's trying to get Din's Pearl!"_ thought Link as he watched in powerless anger. This thing... whatever it was... was the cause of Valoo's rage. If she were left to her own devices, she would probably cause cataclysm in his friends' home. He wanted to crush it like the bug it was, but it was too far in the center of its lava pit. If he got close, he would lose his life gruesomely. Even if he could get up there, how would he take her down when she was several times the size of an army surplus tank?

Getting an idea, he got his breath back and started spinning his grappling hook once more. Now that the monster was distracted, Link had a good shot at hitting her eye.

Link aimed it carefully and hurled it straight at the monster. The queen suddenly glanced at it, realising she had been caught off guard and began to duck…

 **CHINK!**

The grappling hook had grabbed something! Link held on with both hands and pulled as tightly as he could, but in a second he found himself lifted from the ground. He had missed the Queen's eye entirely.

 **HE HAD HIT VALOO'S TAIL.**

The boy shot into the air and swung over Gohma as she spat burning charcoal at him. Link was now swinging by Valoo's tail over the armoured colossus as she slashed at him furiously but futilely. Valoo thrashed his tail in pain, letting out deafening bellows as he shook Link around like a hanging mirror ornament. Link did not dare let go. He needed this grappling hook to beat the Queen! It would be no good if he just left it on Valoo's tail!

Finally, the grappling hook came free and Link shot across the room and into a wall. He slid downwards and slumped onto one of the high boardwalks hanging from it. His back was hurting from impact, his arms were feeling very loose because of all of the hanging. His head was spinning from the… well, spinning. His whole body felt like it was on fire, as if the Queen had hit him point blank with fiery breath. Speaking of her…

The Queen looked at him with a sadistic grin before opening her mouth. The inside began to glow a fiercer and fiercer shade of orange. Link's goose was cooked and he would be too if he didn't get out of the way. By now, Link had resigned himself to being campfire food. He couldn't move out of the way because of his weariness, so he just looked down and braced himself for the fire.

The Queen's fiery breath charged and charged and charged, with the sound of a furnace and the occasional cracking noise.

Wait, 'cracking noise'?

Both of them looked up as they heard rock loosening. The ring of bedrock that sat around the mighty dragon, which had kept him from flying away, had loosened from Valoo's tantrums. It broke free from the ceiling and plunged straight down… Straight onto Gohma's head.

 **SMAAAAASH!**

The Queen's eye rolled around in its socket like a ball on a treadmill before she sank down to the floor making a horrible crinkling noise. Her armour splintered more and more and more until she disappeared into the lava with the bedrock.

From the walkway, Link looked into the depths of the lava. The Queen showed no signs of coming back up. He was alive, yet only because of luck. He had much yet to learn about combat.

Link remembered that his sister was still imprisoned and that spurred him to climb down the rock wall. After excruciating movements, he finally reached the bottom.

* * *

All was not over, however. With not even a rumbling ground to tip him off, Gohma came smashing back out of the lava. With her exoskeleton smashed, she was much less physically large, but no less grisly because she was made almost fully out of lava. Her head was the only solid part of her, which was a giant eye socket with two massive mandibles attached to the side. Looking at it now, her eye was a lot bigger than it looked when she had her armour on.

Link couldn't move out of the way in time and the monster plunged her pincers into the floor on either side of him. Her mouth opened again and another thunderous blast of fire began to charge. Link could already feel her hot breath scorching his face like a hair dryer.

He was trapped. He would need a miracle to escape from this. Or maybe... a trick.

Quick as a flash, Link scooped up a handful of ash and hurled it into the Queen's mouth as the fire inside started to rage. The monster screamed and recoiled as her attack extinguished, giving Link the time he needed to run out of the way. She lunged forwards with her mandibles to try and chop the boy in half. Ducking out of range, Link jumped at her eye for big damage. The monster leaned back just in time, almost making Link fall into the lava. She slammed both pincers on either side of him and began lighting up her fiery breath once again. Her pincers were too tall for Link to climb. He was trapped with the same trick. The charging fire had clearly been stored from the last times she tried this, as the Queen's fiery breath sprang to life in half a second and roared through the air like a flamethrower.

Link screamed in agony as the flames engulfed him. He bent down to cover his earlier injuries but by the time the assault stopped, he was badly burned all over. He felt like burned toast. Gohma cackled manically as she raised her pincers in the air for the killing blow.

Fire in his eyes as well as on his clothes, Link began spinning his grappling hook. As the monster leaned in, Link let it loose. The rope and claw flew through the air and perfectly latched onto the monster's eye. It shrieked and screamed, spitting hot charcoal everywhere but Link did not flinch when they hit him. He had to try and pull the monster to his level. Both hands on the rope, burning from the friction and flames, he gave the rope a sharp tug. The Queen struggled against his pull by rearing herself back, but Link was determined to bring her down to save the Rito. Save Komali, Quill, Medli, the chieftain, everyone. Finally, the insect's grip ran out and she crashed to the floor, her naked eye shaking in fear as she saw a sword rise into the air above her charred enemy's head and then she could no longer see at all. That was because Trusty Rusty had sliced clean through it, converting her eye into a pulsing, electric blue and yellow substance that fell from her eye socket and onto the floor.

Gohma let loose one last pained howl and hammered around the sides of the room, sapping her remaining energy by ramming her head against the wall. All the magma in the room hardened, pinning her in place. Simultaneously, the parts of her body that were made of lava petrified and the insect turned to rock, casting a look of horror and pain at Valoo's tail and crumbling into dust like a vampire that had just seen sunlight.

Link felt DESTROYED. His whole body hurt from being roasted like a Sunday Lunch and he felt like he hadn't slept in days. He looked like if his shadow had gained sentience and rose out of the ground. He hugged his burned arm close to him, tears streaming down his face as he gritted his teeth. He was so tired he almost couldn't think at all. His sword slipped from his grasp and the sight of the Queen's deflated eyeball almost made him chuck up. Instead, his legs buckled and the last thing he saw before he hit the ground was Aryll's terrified face.

* * *

Have you ever had a screamer dream before? You know, when you have a dream, everything is all normal and at the very end, you're in a dark location and some monster bursts in out of nowhere, screams in your face and then you wake up like a catapult going off. It's rather common. Eventually, your body gets used to this and when you see the monster coming, you just think: "Right, this is a dream. You're not getting me with that again." but you still wake up with a jolt, only this time you get temporarily paralysed for some reason. Is it sleep paralysis? Last time it happened to me, I didn't see any demons or hear anything...

Well, Link had one of those dreams just now. Aryll was in her jail cell in the Forsaken Fortress, this time joined by his newer friends. Tetra, Orca, Quill, Medli, Komali and the Chieftain sat against the far wall, looking like they were about to die at any moment. Link was burned black and cut badly just like his earlier encounters with the monsters and the Queen. As he headed forwards, his vision would distort and he would just end up the same distance away from his loved ones. Five minutes of this later and a mummified zombie burst in front of him with a deafening scream.

Link had these kind of dreams a lot, so he knew it was coming the moment he saw the shadow racing towards him. He woke with a jolt, but found he couldn't sit up, open his eyes or anything. He felt something soft supporting his head, a bit of weight on his chest and something cold on his forehead. Had all of this been a dream from him falling out of a tree? Link began to listen to his surroundings.

"¡La próxima vez, recuerde revisar el otro lado de la escotilla antes de volar!" came the nagging voice of a Rito's mother from the other side of the room. Nope, he was still on Dragon Roost… but this time a civilised part of it. Link opened his eyes as soon as he could and looked around the Aviary. Beds were on either side of him, populated by young and old Rito. One was watching her egg hatch before her eyes, another was having his severely damaged wing repaired and one young boy... was getting a miniature totem pole figure removed from his ear.

The boy lifted his covers. He was still wearing his white, long trousers and socks but he was now wearing blue and white striped bedwear. He had also been bandaged on his arm, parts of his face, his leg and his back. An ice pack sat on his forehead. When he moved his bandaged areas, they hardly hurt… Who did all this? Link thought that they deserved the pay rise to end all pay rises!

A feminine gasp came from the other side of the room. "Link, you're OK!"

Medli came dashing over, dropping a bedpan (empty, thank goodness) onto the floor with a loud clatter.

"Medli? What's going on? The last thing I remember was-" Suddenly, the events of what last happened zapped through his head. "There's a monster in Dragon Roost! It's mutilating Valoo's tail!" panted Link as he sat up abruptly. Medli restrained him slightly.

"Calm down, Link. You're safe. I did have a hard time persuading everyone of what happened, but I did it and we got to you just in time." said Medli calmly. "There's no monster in there. Just some weird goop and a pool of hardened magma."

Link calmed down. His heavy breathing slowed and he sat back a bit. Medli began to hurriedly walk out the room. "I'll see you in a bit! I just need to pop out for a moment." she called back to him.

"That's fine!" answered Link. He looked to the table to his side. His bag and several other belongings lay on it. Curious, the boy took hold of his grappling hook that Medli gave him. The end of it was slightly blackened from being so close to lava and some strands were peeling off in some places... Next, he saw a folded newspaper sitting neatly next to it, titled " **Noticias de la Isla del Dragón** "

The boy squinted, muddled by the language barrier. He quickly scoured the page for an English translation.

" **LAS CELEBRACIONES SE CALIENTAN MIENTRAS EL NIÑO HEROICO DESTRUYE EL MONSTRUO CATACLÍSMICO:** " whooped the headline. Looking at the words, Link was able to guess 'celebrations', 'heroic', 'destroy' and 'cataclismic'...

Things suddenly got clearer! He kept reading to catch his mind up on what had happened...

" _Los Orni ahora tienen espacio para respirar. Una niña valiente, el propio príncipe y un niño humano muy abnegado lograron eliminar a un clan de monstruos que vivían en lo alto de la isla, incluida una enorme enemiga reina como un escorpión."_

No English translation was included... but Link was able to estimate a few more words of what he was reading. Enough to understand fully what was going on.

Gohma, the scourge of Valoo, was dead. Thank heaven. He collapsed back onto his pillow, sighing a deep breath of weariness and relief.

The sound of excited children filled his ears. They got closer and closer to the door. Finally, Medli and Prince Komali came running inside. Komali was back in his old clothes and he looked physically exhausted. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was even messier than usual. Upon seeing Link awake, his eyes widened and a smile shot across his face.

"Oh, thank goodness!" gasped Komali as he ran over and dropped into a stool beside Link. "I was beginning to think you were dead!"

"No, though I almost was!" Link turned to Medli. "But a certain grappling hook saved my life!"

Medli looked at him in surprise. "What? My one?" she rushed over. "What on earth happened?"

And so, Link explained to his two friends what he had done since they last parted ways. He told them about the monster, what it was doing to Valoo, how it had almost beaten him and that's why he was collapsed in a heap on the floor and how he got into the room-

Wait, no, he considered telling them that last bit, but he didn't want to tell Medli that if she sat down on the wrong stool she would have suffered a shockingly cruel demise. The poor girl would probably faint... if her experience in the cage didn't do it already.

"So you used the grappling hook to fight it?"

"Yeah… It helped me immensely. I used it destroy the heavy armour that protected it."

Medli gawked in further astonishment. "Wait, so it had armour? Where did it go?"

Link cringed a little as he said this. He was not comfortable in telling the two that he took to tail torturing to defeat the monster.

"Well… you see… I accidentally hit Valoo's tail with the hook when I aimed for the monster and he thrashed so hard, he made a sheet of bedrock bonk it on the bonce!"

The three all laughed before Medli started speaking. "Oh! Speaking of Valoo, he's feeling a lot better now! I suppose two days of not having your tail attacked by that thing really-"

"Wait, two days?" gasped Link, catapulting upwards. "I've been here for two days?" gasped Link, catapulting upwards.

"Relax. You're fine. You needed rest. It is now the afternoon of Tuesday. You've slept for pretty much two days." said Medli. "I've been keeping watch over you. So has Quill and the Chieftain." She put a hand on Komali's head. "Komali here has been doing most of the work. He's been writing updates on the front of your bed."

Link looked in astonishment as Komali sheepishly went to his front and picked up several charts from the front of his bed. He turned them around. One of them was labelled 'Heart Activity' and featured a large line which shot up and down erratically. It looked like a lightning bolt. The second was labeled 'Actions' and detailed what he must have been doing as he slept. Notable examples included 'Jolting about erratically', 'Talking about a grandmother' and 'speaking Russian'. Link didn't know what Russian even was, so the last part was especially weird.

"Sorry if that's… embarrassing to you, but you saved my life back there! I couldn't just leave you hanging!" explained Komali.

Link smiled. He felt a lot of… appreciation. For Komali, for Medli, for Quill and for the Cheiftan. For everyone.

"You didn't, Komali. You helped me in there too and that is more than I could ask for… Ever. Thank you all."

"Well, we're the ones who should be saying that, Link!" beamed Medli.

Link remembered Aryll trapped in the Forsaken Fortress. Uneasily, he stepped out of bed.

"Do you know where my normal clothes are?" asked Link. Despite second thoughts, he could stand perfectly. Medli and Komali seemed concerned. "They're… here. I fixed them up when I wasn't watching over you." Medli pointed over to a clothing rack. There lay his green clothes, slung tidily over hangers and bars.

The boy couldn't believe his ears or his eyes. He picked up his top and looked over it. Sure enough, the rips and tears from the battle in the arena and the subsequent fight with Gohma were completely fixed up. It was as if it hadn't even happened.

"Wow!" gasped Link, looking over the rest of his clothes. They were all good as new. They had all been well washed and well cleaned, they looked like they did when Granny had given them to him.

* * *

Minutes later, Link was back into his signature clothes. He stepped out of the changing cubicle as Medli and Komali applauded.

"Sorry, but I have to go back to my boat. He shall tell me my next objective."

Komali looked a little confused. Medli looked a bit sad.

"You are right." Medli declared, "One of your objectives will be saving your sister at some point. I know it."

Komali asked what he meant by 'King', so Link explained his entire situation.

"Um… Fair enough!" Komali said, rather bemused. "Didn't think I'd ever hear someone talking about a talking boat today..."

Medli could see that Komali was masking a little sadness because Link was already leaving, so she pitched a little suggestion.

"Link… Would you mind if we… go down to your boat with you? Komali would like that."

Komali raised his head a little, before nodding it in agreement, though he kept looking down as though he was ashamed of wanting that. Link walked over, put a hand on the Prince's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "I can do that."

* * *

The trio walked down where Link had come from. Link told them all about the antics he had on his way up. The other two were laughing and laughing.

"This was the tunnel where Quill came flying in and made me jump out of my skin!"

"That's the farm that allowed me to get here in the first place. That farmer was lucky his farm didn't go up in flames!"

"This hill is where the wind decided to trip me over and give me a face full of rocks!"

"And… this is where I started. I'm sorry."

Komali looked down at the little red bearded boat bobbing about in the blue. Suddenly, he remembered: The boat could talk!

"Hey! What's shaking?" called the prince. With a grin, the boat responded.

"Me! These waves have been making me feel sick!" The King waited for the Prince's shocked expression. Not one look of shock crossed his face. Instead, he smiled and even laughed a bit.

"W-w-w-what? Why are your lips mum? Have you seen a talking boat before?" spluttered the King. Komali looked up at Link. Realising what happened, the King grunted and rolled his eyes. Komali ran forward to ask the boat questions about him, leaving Link and Medli to talk.

"I'm sorry about what happened." whispered Medli. Link furrowed his brow in confusion.

"What? What did you do?"

"Well… I was the one who tempted you into Dragon Roost Cavern. If I had just held off, you wouldn't have come in after me, nearly got beaten to death, got burned by a giant… THING. I just caused you so much trouble."

Link gave a sympathetic smile. "But if you hadn't gone in, Komali wouldn't have felt better until even later, Valoo would never have gotten better at all and monsters would still be flooding Dragon Roost Cavern! You did a good thing and you should be proud."

Medli beamed at this statement. With a happy tear sliding down her face, she stepped forwards and hugged the boy tightly. Link simply returned the gesture, a little surprised. If he had to guess, hugging was a habit of hers.

A sudden roar made them jump.

"Not again!" moaned Link, looking up at the peak of the mountain. "Did the monster just… rebirth itself?"

Luckily, Valoo was not in danger. This was evident as the clouds were cleared from the top of the mountain. Atop it was Valoo, the beautiful dragon that governed Dragon Roost.

In a very deep voice, he began to speak. His language was not Spanish, English or… however Gohma communicated. Instead, it was very royal and ancient sounding. In fact, I can't find anything to get the phonetics of it! Darn!

The four all looked up as the great dragon spoke. Medli seemed to be paying very close attention, as did the King of Red Lions.

"Use the… Wind God's… wind?" translated Medli. She looked down in thought.

Luckily, the King of Red Lions appeared to know a lot more about the language than Medli did. He began to translate his entire quote.

"He said: 'O Hero! Thank you! O hero, Use the Wind God's Wind!'"

Medli turned to face the boat. She took a polite bow. "Thank you, sir."

"What does that mean? 'Wind God?'" echoed Link.

Komali broke away from talking to the boat and ran up to Link.

"The Wind God! I know!" he pointed around the shore. "There is a cave hidden around the side of that shore. If you go through it, you will find a shrine. Apparently, directing of some kind will reveal the Wind God. I don't know what that means, but you might!"

Link smiled and followed his gaze. "I'll go to find out!" He turned to leave, but the King's voice stopped him.

"Your highness, is there something you're forgetting?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in anticipation. Link turned his head as Komali seemed surprised by this question.

"Let me think… My schedule was… go down to the bottom of the mountain and- Oh! Silly me! I forgot!" laughed the Prince. Suddenly, he faltered in shock. "WHAT? How did you know?!"

The King laughed uproariously. "Ah! I got you with that one! Don't worry, it's just one of my… abilities!"

Komali coughed and turned red. He swivelled around and rummaged in his bag, pulling out something wrapped in a towel. "Link… Medli and I had a talk yesterday. You need this pearl… to help your sister." The Prince yanked the towel off the pearl. It shone brighter and brighter as it absorbed the surrounding sunlight.

"Oh!" Link approached the Prince and took the pearl into his hands. Suddenly, it disappeared into an orange light and automatically flew into his bag, leaving the three in stunned silence. "Thanks… Komali. What just happened?"

Medli shook her head. "I have no clue!"

The King turned to Link. "Well, whatever happened, it seemed that the pearl is already helping."

Link tried to leave once again, but Komali's voice was now the one that stopped him.

"Oh, one more thing, Link!"

Link turned around again. "What is it?"

"By the time you see me again, I'll have a great pair of wings! I know it! I am ready to brave Dragon Roost Cavern again!" announced the Prince with his fist in the air.

"I'm sure you will! Good luck in there!"

Link turned and ran down the beach. He had to see this 'Wind God'.


	12. Big, Bulbous Boils

Link sprinted through the tunnel on the side of Dragon Roost Island all while thoughts buzzed in his brain.

"' _Wind God's wind?'"_

" _Am I going to meet a real God?"_

" _What does it look like?"_

 _"Is Valoo going to be alright?"_

" _OK, the tunnel has ended! There's the shrine!"_

Link wondered out the end of the tunnel and stared at a small island within wading distance away. As Komali had told him, a little shrine sat atop it behind a fancy wooden arch up a small set of stairs. Taking a deep breath, the boy waded into the water. It started off as careful steps, then the water started to rise a little. He started to walk a little faster. Suddenly, water started pouring into his boots. Link sprinted across the shallow water to the shrine, dripping with water.

"I should have just ran!" groaned Link, heading up the steps and through the arch. The wind here was cold and harsh. It was as if he was near the top of Dragon Roost. Link chattered and hugged himself to keep warm. Ahead of him stood two stone tablets.

Upon inspecting the stone tablets, The one on the left had an inscription written on it:

"Hero, the Wind God's wind gathers here."

Below the inscription was a little carving of what looked like a baton. Without missing a beat, Link took his Wind Waker out of his bag. Immediately, he realised that he had no idea how to use the thing.

On the bottom of the tablet were three diamond shaped markings each containing an arrow.

 **UP, LEFT, RIGHT.**

Link held the Wind Waker out to the tablet to see if that would do something, but that's when something interesting started to happen. The end started to flash once every second. At the same time, a pulse ran through his entire arm. Every time this happened, he heard a note in his head. Link held the baton upwards. The note that played in his head every second got a bit higher.

Link smiled to himself. He was getting it!

On the first second, Link held the baton upwards.

On the second, he held it to his left.

On the last, he held it to his right.

The tune that resulted was very easy and simple, but it sounded great. All of a sudden, the wind dispersed off to the north, singing against the tablets. Several beat against Link before whizzing on. With no more cold wind swirling around, the shrine was now very warm.

" **OH HO HO! Now THAT is a fine breeze!** "

Link jumped a billion miles into the air at this sudden voice. "Who's there?" he demanded, looking all around himself. Something moved out the corner of his eye. "What was that? Show yourself!"

 **"Do not fear, boy! I am not your enemy!** "

Suddenly, a colossal splash of water rose into the air, drenching Link in water. As he rubbed his eyes clean, a blurred shape slowly became more and more clear.

Sitting on a massive cloud was a large, blue, anthropomorphic frog. He had two wrinkles near his nose that looked like a handlebar moustache. He sported a white stomach. He was about ten times the size of Link.

He was quite literally on cloud nine.

" **Are you the new Wind Waker?"** blasted the frog. Link cupped his hands in front of his mouth and shouted to try and be heard.

"WELL, I HAVE THE BATON!"

The frog furrowed his brow before descending closer to Link.

" **WHAT?** "

"I SAID, I HAVE THE BATON! DOES THAT MAKE ME THE WIND WAKER?"

" **Oh! I forgot to shrink down! Silly me!** "

With that, the giant frog shrunk and shrunk and shrunk until he was the size of Link. He floated on over to him as the boy watched in confusion.

"There we go! That's much better, isn't it?" said the frog.

"Are you the 'Wind God' I keep hearing about?" asked Link, hoping to be heard this time.

"Yes! Zephos is the name! I am the famed God of Wind! You must be the new Wind Waker!" deduced Zephos, extending a long, skinny hand for Link to shake. Link did so in bewilderment. A giant bird, talking boats, a giant lava scorpion thing and now a frog that can change his size? I can assure you, Link had not been at the sherry. This was all 100% real. He didn't fall down a rabbit hole either.

When Link put his hand by his side, he flailed it about in disgust upon realising it was now all slimy. "So, what did I just do?" he asked.

"Wait, you're telling me you didn't even know what you were doing?" spluttered Zephos. "That was the best version of the Wind's Requiem I've heard in centuries!"

Link smiled at this compliment, but did a double take immediately. "The what?"

"Why, the Wind's Requiem!" To illustrate this point, Zephos spelled out 'Requiem' with his finger. As he moved it, wind trailed off of the end and looped around, forming the word perfectly. "It controls the wind, I say!"

Link began connecting the dots. "Is that why it just got warmer over here? It was freezing and windy when I arrived at this shrine."

The god nodded his head. "You're right! The wind doesn't seem too thrilled with their new Waker, though. Don't worry! It'll warm up to you eventually."

"Is that why it's been messing with me lately? It beat me up when I got the Wind Waker, tripped me over and caused me to launch someone into a wall- wow, that last one sounds weird with no context!"

Zephos let out a large belly laugh at the boy's remark. "Yes, that may be why the wind is mistreating you. Don't worry! It'll make itself comfortable!"

Link looked back to the tablets to look at the Wind's Requiem's notes. As he did, he looked at the one on the right. The top half appeared to have broken clean off.

"Oh, my goodness! What happened to this one here?" asked Link, turning back to Zephos. The frog god flew into the air and out of sight before descending down by the broken monument.

"Oh, this? Well, I have a brother. A brother called Cyclos. When the Great Valoo up there got his knickers in a twist, one of his earthquakes broke his monument!" explained Zephos.

"I'm… sorry to hear that. Is he doing OK?" asked Link. Zephos flew into the air again and descended back to Link's left.

"Unfortunately not! Now, he takes his anger out on travellers. He basically goes like this:"

The frog grew back to his large size and quickly stirred up a massive cyclone. Link hugged the posts of the arch for dear life to not get sucked in. Zephos put on a very deep but fake voice.

" **MWAH HA HA HA! YOU DARE NOT FEAR ME?! I SHALL USE THIS CYCLONE TO SEND YOU FLYING ALL THE WAY TO THE OTHER END OF THE GREAT SEA! MWAH HA HA HA! I AM VERY EVIL! MWAH HA HA HA! I SHALL MAKE YOUR TRAVELLING REALLY INCONVENIENT! MWAH HA HA HA- Oo-er! Sorry!"**

The frog had seen that Link was now almost being sucked into the vortex, so he stopped and shrunk down again.

"Sorry about that! I guess I got a little… carried away!" Zephos coughed and turned red as he approached Link once more.

"That's OK. I get your point. Where is he? I don't want to run into him any time soon!" said Link. Zephos looked up, opened his mouth and plunged his arm inside. A rather uncomfortable second later, he pulled out a sticky sea chart. Link grimaced in disgust at the sight.

"He is around 3-D on the map!" announced Zephos, pointing at a square. Link got as close as he could without feeling nauseous and kept the coordinates in his head.

"All right… thank you." Link winced as the god rolled the map up, put it on his tongue and swallowed it whole.

"OK, to sum everything up, use that melody when you want to change directions as you sail and watch out for 3-D! Along the corridor and up the stairs! Triple D! DDD! **BYYYYYE!** "The god zoomed into the ocean, making an explosion of water. Drenched, Link wrung out his hat and sprinted back through the water and back into the tunnel.

* * *

Link dashed through the warm tunnel to the other side. What had just happened? Who was that? Why was he a frog? Great, now people who don't know that this is a novelization of a game will think I have a screw loose!

As Link dashed across the sand, he came across two figures running towards him. Medli and Komali. They immediately stopped, as did Link, to avoid a collision.

"Link, what happened?" asked Medli, a hint of worry in her voice.

"We were waiting for you to come back when we heard a song, then there was this massive splash and a giant voice! We had to cover our ears!" started Komali. "Nothing happened for a while, so we thought we'd go investigate to see if it was another monster and then we heard a cyclone starting up and the same deep voice started up again, saying how he was going to blow someone to the other side of the ocean!"

Link began to explain, but faltered a little. "Well… It makes just as much sense in context. That deep voice was a giant… frog god guy who told me about a melody that controls wind, then he did an impression of his rampaging brother who is mad because his monument is broken."

The two looked confused.

Their lips began trembling.

Their eyes began to narrow upwards.

Suddenly, the two fell about laughing. Link himself was chuckling a little too.

* * *

The three laughed their way through the tunnel. When Medli and Komali realised what this meant, they stopped laughing.

"I guess… you have to go now." mumbled Medli, solemnly. Link put a comforting hand on her arm.

"Yes. Don't worry, though. I'll come back and visit this place when I can! I think it's really-"

As he was talking, Medli and Komali almost threw him to the floor with a giant group hug.

"Oh, goodness! It's not that exciting, is it?"

The two let him go. Link was pretty sure Medli was wiping a tear away.

"Link, you saved us all! You faced a mad monster with a curved knife, you were willing to sacrifice yourself to get rid of it, you fought a MASSIVE SCORPION MADE OF LAVA to save our dragon! You saved our island! It's an honour that you have considered coming back!" she said in an overjoyed, high voice.

"I'm not a king! Of course I'll come back! Speaking of kings, I'll need to get back to my boat! I think I have to collect another pearl." announced Link.

* * *

Link stood on his boat, waving to Medli and Komali as he slowly started to cruise.

"See you later, OK?" called Link to the two waving children on the shore.

"I hope your new pearl comes in handy!" shouted Komali.

"I can't wait to see your new wings!" replied Link. Komali looked at his arms, before realising what Link meant. "I'll take on Dragon Roost again as soon as I can!"

"Which way are we going, sir?" he asked the King. The boat pointed it's head forwards.

"Our destination lays south of here. You are no longer at the mercy of the wind, so-" he began. Link abruptly cut him off. "Are you doing it again? Can you stop these remarks? They're creeping me out!"

The boat lowered an eyebrow in confusion. "Did you think I wouldn't notice that massive cyclone and a booming voice?"

Link sighed again. He was right. The King was a little further back than Medli and Komali were so he might have been able to see the god Link had met, especially since he grew several times his size during their meeting. Link just decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. It was easier that way.

Link slipped the Wind Waker out of his pocket and began deeply concentrating.

The notes started. The boy lifted his arm up, left and right. As the song sounded, Link pointed his arm in the direction his boat was facing.

"South, please!" he ordered.

The wind furiously blasted south like a rocket, giving Link another whack on the back as it went past which almost made him drop the Wind Waker.

"What's wrong about me? Is it my clothes?" mumbled the boy. He firmly stomped on the 'sail' button and the sail. The mast shot out of the deck and they were off. Medli and Komali became smaller and smaller and smaller, as did the island, until they were out on the open sea.

"So, you did it! You braved injuries that would put others in hospital for a good week, but you only needed two days! You saved an entire island! Well done, my child!" said the boat with a smile.

Wow, I'm gonna need to make a 'Non-Sarky Comments' counter for this guy! Link was starting to feel a little emotional about this. He was important for something after all!

"Wait, are you all right? You seem a little… quiet." said the King, concerned again.

"It… It's nothing. I'm just… concentrating." replied Link. To prove his point, he swerved the boat sharply. "Whoa! Close scrape with a rock there!"

* * *

The sky was turning pink as the boy and his boat saw their destination on the horizon.

"There it is! Forest Haven!" called the King. There were two large shapes hiding in the horizon. As they approached, Link's eyes focused on them like a camera lens. The one on the left was a large, white, treelike island that had small branches poking out of the sides. A path curled up the side a little. He could also see a river flowing into a pond on the island. Link would have picked it in a heartbeat over the one on the right, which looked like a dead tree of equal size with the one on the left and was covered in massive, thorny vines.

A little nervous, Link steered the boat into the middle of the two islands, hoping for the King to speak up.

"We are aiming for the island on the left." directed the King.

Breathing a massive sigh of relief, Link steered the tiller right, causing him to lurch to the left. As the boat dropped him off on the shore, Link looked around. The path that led up the island was uneven. It was a small dirt furrow in the ground that snaked up a bit, then it ended abruptly, leaving a large gap. Across from that was a waterfall that lead to a pond below.

"So, do any people live here?" asked the boy. The boat tried to suppress a knowing smile.

"...Kind of. They live inside the forest that lies on the other side. That is where your next objective is." the King explained. Link tried to hide a groan. He was at it again!

"Your next objective is another pearl. This time, a green one that belonged to the goddess Farore!"

Link shot the boat a grin. "Called it!" he said, smugly.

The King paused in surprise before continuing. "There is no apparent danger here, unlike Dragon Roost. If you explain who you are and what you're doing, they'll happily let you have it."

"But… who lives here? Who am I meant to look for?"

"You can't miss him! He's in the forest inside the bark shell."

Link sighed and headed on up the jagged path.

"Oh, and one more thing!" called the boat. "Watch out for the plants! They're dangerous!"

Link looked about. A few stinging nettles were growing in the path on the side. He shrugged. Those grew at Outset, so he was used to them.

* * *

Link walked up the furrow of a path, bending his legs wildly as he went. The path was rather jagged, as I said, which means that it was rather hard to walk on. As he got further up, a large, curled up flower popped into view. It wasn't giant, but it was still rather large for a flower. It had three colours, all separated by horizontal, zigzagging lines. The top was crimson red like an apple. The middle was orange like a… guess what. The bottom was a dark purple colour like an aubergine. Link looked a bit closer. He could hear something on the inside. It was what appeared to be something sticky running down a surface. Eventually, this transitioned into snarling.

" _Dangerous plants."_ thought Link before connecting the dots and sprinting away. A giant head on a vine burst out of the flower. It was green, red and purple and it had the teeth of a Venus fly trap. It ran it's banana yellow tongue across its lips.

Link readied himself as the plant began snapping in his direction. The boy pounced into the air and slashed as hard as he could. The plant simply bounced back.

 _"That thing has a tough hide!"_ thought Link as he backed away from the plant. How could he get around it?

Suddenly, he had an idea. Rolling around the plant as Orca had taught him, he slashed at the vine holding its head. With a scream, the plant shot into the air and spun like a parade baton before falling to the floor. Its head vanished as the vine hardened and fell to the floor, now looking like a stick off a tree.

Link cooled down a little and continued up the path. Just after that encounter, Link found himself at the gap separating him from the water up ahead. The water flow was split into two different waterfalls that fell into the pond near where he started by a small island. A branch hung above the gap, perfectly in the middle.

Satisfied that he could do this again, Link got out his grappling hook, spun it and flung it flawlessly. The hook perfectly wrapped around the branch. The boy swung across the gap and landed on the small island.

Now, Link was standing before several other islands. The water rushed below him. One wrong step would send him into the water and back to where he started. Taking a breath to steel his nerves, he took a running jump at the second island. The edge cracked as he landed, but he made it. He took another running jump to an island in the middle of a short waterfall. Ahead of him, Link could see a circle of water that didn't seem to be running too much. Only the water going down the waterfall seemed to have a bit of a current. Taking out his grappling hook, he looked for another overhanging branch that he could use. Luckily, a perfectly straight branch stood between him and the little pool of water. He swung the rope around and around and swung across in his usual way, landing smack in the middle. To his right was a hole in the trunk covered by vines. The stream was coming from in there, so the boy pushed the vines aside and went inside.

* * *

Link headed through the tunnel and the air instantly got much more humid. The water below him changed to freshwater as he entered. Link stared at the now green water and walked backwards. It immediately went blue again.

" _What is this?"_

Link went back inside and walked through the flowing river. The water felt really pleasant. It was fresh and from a river, but it wasn't freezing cold. Maybe it was because the humidity made it pleasant.

There was one small problem that Link had noticed: He was in a forest, but the only life he could see were fireflies buzzing around. No birds, no squirrels, no fish in the river, had he gone to the wrong island by mistake? Had peril struck the place?

The forest was very beautiful, even without much life. Trees were scattered around the place and a mysterious blue mist shrouded it. Fireflies provided light and strange flowers decorated the sides.

The boy followed the river as it swirled round occasionally, he had to step up a small waterfall to continue, but there was a circular plateau in the middle of the river. Every waterfall he stepped up, the closer the top of it got. Eventually, Link made it to a point where the plateau was level to the water.

A very tall tree stood in front of him. It stretched up and up and up very high. Link looked up at the very top of the tree as it stretched out of the open top. Pink light from the sky shone into the forest, splitting up as they passed through the tree leaves.

 **Schlurp!**

"What was that?" Link looked around for any sign of whatever made that noise. As he looked down, he jumped in shock when he noticed that the front of the tree had what looked like a human face staring back at him. Something red was moving about on its chin like a boil. This boil grew into red lump with protuberant eyes and a smug, broad smile. Several more sickening noises polluted the air and nine more lumps grew onto the tree's face. Five were red and five were green. Steam rose from under them as they slithered around. It looked like the tree had big, bulbous boils. The tree suddenly moved it's face and began moaning in pain.

" _The tree is sentient!"_ thought Link. He was right, and the tree was in pain. "Don't worry! Help is on the way!" he called.

Taking action immediately, the boy ran towards the tree and thought about climbing it. Nope. The tree already had enough green things scrambling all over it, and he couldn't wrap his arms far enough around the tree to climb in the first place.

Impact? Worth a try! Link backed up and sprinted at the tree, kicking it with all his might. A bit painful for the tree, but it worked well and all the lumps tumbled off the tree and into the water, their acidic trails hissing in the water. Link span around with his sword outstretched, causing the monsters to flick back and forth like a punchbag before melting into nothing.

"Hah! Looks like I got you all in a sticky situat-" boasted Link, but a chatter came from behind him and almost immediately after, he felt a burning pain on his back.

"Aaaaaaargh!"

With a smug grin plastered across its face, a green lump had leaped onto the boy's back. Its acid was hissing against him as it forced him to the ground to try and smother him. Not beaten yet, Link rolled over and the creature squished into green, runny goop flowing down the river.

* * *

Link was chattering because of the temperature of the water. He needed to get out of it! Link looked in front of the tree and saw a giant lily pad floating about in the stationary part of the water in front of the tree. It looked like it could hold ten grown men, let alone a single child. Exhausted, Link headed over and sank down.

A loud rumbling noise thundered from underneath him. The water started to bubble and froth under the lily pad until it started to rise into the air.

"W-w-what is happening?" gasped Link as he got up and uneasily stumbled around. As he reached the edge of the lily pad, he could see that it was a large root that was lifting the plant. When the rising pad stopped, Link was face to face with the giant tree.

The tree opened its mouth and began to talk. What he said was in a different language again. Great! I can break out my translator again!

…

…

…

Oh, right! It's that language that Valoo was speaking! Sorry, you're in the dark as to what he's saying!

Link was in the dark as well. He tilted his head in confusion. The tree lowered an… eyebrow as if confused. He started speaking the language again.

"Sorry! I have no idea what you're saying!" shouted Link, hoping that the tree could understand English.

" **I see… So you are not the Hero of Time.** "

Link smiled in relief. Was this the guy he 'couldn't miss'?

" **I am sorry I startled you earlier, young one. It is not every day that you see a living tree.** " rumbled the gentle giant.

"I forgot to ask this when I last heard your language. What exactly is it?" asked Link, getting straight to the point.

" **I am the Great Deku Tree. The tongue I speak is called 'Hylian'. After the Hero of Time finished both of his quests, he learned the language and became fluent. I don't know what became of him, but your clothes got me caught up in the past. It felt like I had met the Hero of Time himself. Now, the ancient Hylian language is my secondary language. My main is English and my third is called German. German was spoken in a parallel world to us in a place called Germany, as well as some other locations."**

Hylian, eh? Now I know the name of this language, maybe I can find something to get the phonetics!

…

…

…

DRAT!

Ahem… Sorry about that! Anyway, Link explained to the Great Deku Tree what he was doing and what had happened.

" **Ah. So you have collected Din's Pearl and now you have come to get Farore's Pearl, am I correct?** "

Link nodded his head. The tree cleared its throat.

" **Give me a moment.** "

Suddenly, the Great Deku Tree started shouting so loudly that Link started to hear high pitched droning in his ears. It even shook the surrounding trees.

" **Krogs! Kleine Kinder des Waldes! Dieser Junge ist nicht dein Feind! Du kannst jetzt rauskommen!** "

Something started to move at the eyebrows of the Great Deku Tree. Eight little figures peered over the edge at the boy. They had wooden bodies and varied leafs that covered their faces like masks. As Link listened to them, they all began talking to each other.

"Ein Besucher?"

"Was könnte er wollen?"

"Ich finde er sieht süß aus!"

"Er hat einen seltsamen Geruch."

A little help from me to you, in this language, W's are pronounced as V's and that curly B up there is pronounced like two S's. A C and a H together is… kind of hard to explain. Try looking it up.

Anyway, when the little ones had finished gabbling, they all leaped into the air into a circle and pulled out little blades of samaras attached to blades of grass. As the wind caught them, the samaras started spinning like helicopter blades and they all descended slowly in a spinning circle.

" **What do you call yourself?** " asked the Great Deku Tree as the little creatures landed in a circle on the edge of the lily pad. They were all about the size of Link.

"Link… sir." responded the boy with a bow.

" **Link, eh? I suppose I was right to be reminded of the Hero of Time. Well then, Link, these are the Koroks. The children of the forest.** "

All of the Koroks waved at Link wildly. They all had very distinct leaf masks. One had bits and pieces missing from the sides and its left eye was shaped thinner than the right, making it look like a perpetual wink. Another had an autumn red leaf where the eyes faced downwards, making it look constantly confident. The most memorable one had a leaf that almost went down its entire body and had a pattern that looked like it had been ran over by a truck. It obviously hadn't, but it still did.

" **Long ago, they took on human forms. Now that they live on the sea, they take these shapes. Now they fear people… but to me, they will always be my precious little children.** "

Link's heart was about to melt. The Koroks were adorable and friendly! How on earth could they fear people?

"They seem friendly enough to me!" laughed Link as the Koroks inspected him from every angle.

" **You said you were here for Farore's Pearl, right?** "

The Koroks leaned towards Link anticipatory. "Yes, sir!" said the boy.

"First we need to power it!" squeaked one of the Koroks.

Link was very confused by this remark. "...Sorry?" he hummed, tilting his head.

" **Oh, forgive me. I forgot to tell you. In order to give the pearl its power, we must first perform a** **n** **instrumental** **ceremony. It will only take** **a minute. I hope you can live with this slight delay.** "

Link bowed to the tree once again. "It sounds really important. OK, play away!" He took a seat. These little guys could play instruments? He had to see this!

" **All right. Krogs! Drei, zwei, einz...** "

The Koroks all inhaled to begin singing, but a loud voice from above stopped them in their tracks.

"DEKU-BAUM!"

Everyone looked up as another Korok came whizzing down. Its samara was barely moving, so it was descending very quickly. It almost crash-landed on top of Link, but he started spinning it quickly at the last second.

The Deku Tree let out a sigh. " **Linder.** "

"We have an emergency! It's Makar!" said the Korok, hurriedly.

" **Yes, I am aware that he is late. Where is he?"**

"Well, that's the issue! He… He… HE FELL INTO THE FORBIDDEN WOODS!"

All the Koroks and the Deku Tree fell silent.

Well, not the Deku Tree.

" **WHAT?** " he roared. His breath almost sent Link flying off the Lily pad, but all the Koroks all crowded behind him and made sure that didn't happen.

" **The Forbidden Woods? What happened?** "

Linder was very visible shaken. "Well, he heard a deep voice coming from there, so he decided to hover over to check it out. A bolt of electricity then flew out the top and it knocked him in! I tried to tell him not to, but-"

Linder couldn't take it any more. He loudly burst into tears as Link and the other Koroks tried to comfort him.

The Great Deku Tree let out an angered grumble. " **This is the work of Kalle Demos.** "

"Kalle Demos?" echoed Link. All the Koroks turned to him.

" **Yes. Kalle Demos is a dangerous plant that moved into the Forbidden Woods. Her name means 'Flora Demon' in Hylian. She is a threat to us all. You see, Koroks are very weak to poison. If Kalle Demos was able to move around efficiently, she could invade this place and attack my children.** "

Link felt a little twinge of guilt. Kalle Demos sounded like a real piece of work. Now she was threatening the Koroks. No wonder they didn't trust outsiders.

" **Link… I apologise that the delay may be longer than I anticipated… but you seem to be a strong swordsman. Would you mind helping us find Makar? He's our instrumental part of the ceremony and we can't get it done without him.** "

Link nodded his head rapidly. This seemed to be a matter of life and death. Lightning? Poison? That thing sounded like she could very quickly kill a Korok.

" **The Forbidden Woods is a rotten tree to the left of ours. It is surrounded by giant vines with giant thorns.** "

When Link had last seen the Forbidden Woods, his brain had begged him not to have to go in. Now that someone was in danger, Link wanted in as fast as possible.

"How do I get there?" asked Link urgently. Linder leaped into the air.

"Yes, he has a point! Humans can't fly!"

"Wait, what? 'Fly'? I have to fly? He's right, I can't fly!" stuttered Link.

"Yes. There is no entrance to the Forbidden Woods at sea level. Climbing is impossible because of all the thorns. There is a big opening on the top and one on the side."

" **And that's where I come in!** " chimed the Great Deku Tree. He began to shake the very top of himself. Several leaves fluttered to the ground. One stood out, though. One leaf was much larger than the rest and was falling in a different pattern. Instead of gently falling, it was pointing downwards and flying like a diving paper airplane.

Link yelped and ducked as the leaf flew at him like a knife. The Koroks all gathered around him and caught it in midair. For a second, it looked like they were shielding him from rain, but he soon got up, noticing that the leaf was the size of a bath towel.

" **This is a Deku Leaf. Hold it above your head by both ends and you can glide through the air.** "

Link held it as advised and began to pump it. "Wow! This looks really good!"

" **Here's the plan: You walk off the edge of the lily pad and jump into that blue and red bud with white spots. After a bit of preparation from it, it will launch you into the air. From there, fly into the Forbidden Woods!** "

Link nodded in approval looking at the familiar-looking bud, yet he was a little nervous. "Will this plan work? That's not the home of a man-eating plant like the last one, is it?"

One of the Koroks tapped him on the back. "You can do it, mister hero! I've been in that one before! It's a blast!"

"Yeah! It's not going to eat you! It just launches you!" said another one.

Link nodded. He had to trust the tree on this. One of his children was in danger and he couldn't hesitate.

" **One more thing: Be careful with how you use that. If it runs out of magic power, it will lose its flesh, leaving only its skeleton. You can't glide with that. To refill magic power, cut excess grass. The aura will absorb into the Deku Leaf to refill it.** "

"Got it!"

The Deku Tree held his breath.

Link held his breath.

He leaped off of the lily pad and headed to the bud. In fairness, it was very different to the one that housed the earlier monster. Link opened its petals and looked inside. No teeth to be seen! Before he went, however, he took out the bottle Medli had given him and scooped it through the water, just in case he got lost in the woods and needed nourishment.

"Right! Off I go!" Link hopped into the air and as he landed, the plant stretched its petals out and engulfed him. He was now inside the bud, fiddling around with his leaf in pitch darkness. The bud slowly began building up power before it suddenly opened its top.

Link blinked for one second and when he opened his eyes, his leaf was flying through the air with him latched to the ends. Below him, all the Koroks applauded and cheered.

"Tschüss!"

"Viel Glück!"

"Wir hoffen, dass Sie es schaffen!"

Link smiled as he flew out the top of Forest Haven. Maybe flying wasn't so bad after all! The boy swiveled in midair to face the Forbidden Woods. What could possibly go wrong now?

 **Plop!**

"What was that?"

Link looked around. The sky was now pitch black, dotted with stars. Clouds were covering the sky. He must have been in Forest Haven longer than he thought.

 **Plop! Plop! PlopPlop! PlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlopPlop!**

"Oh, fiddlesticks! Rain? Now, of all times?"

Rain beat down on the boy. The rain made the leaf become slick. Link was quickly losing his grip. "Am I going to make it?" he shivered.

The Forbidden Woods was growing closer and closer, but so were his hands to the edge.


	13. Meat At The Butchers

The wind gusted towards the Forbidden Woods and Link was racing towards the cursed isle, but the rain was making him loose his grip on the leaf. It was also forcing him downward, making it unlikely that he would reach the top of the Forbidden Woods. As Linder had said, there was a little opening on the side of the rotted trunk. He decided to aim for that.

The rain loosened and loosened his grip until he had nearly been peeled off the leaf altogether. Luckily, he just about floated inside the wooded opening.

Link landed rather ungracefully on a pile of leaves. Ungraceful, yet safe. The problem was, his landing was more than ungraceful and completely unsafe. He landed HARD on a leaf trap. The pile of leaves had been put there to cover up a hole. With a loud rustle, the boy vanished down the hole and began falling through the Forbidden Woods.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

He plummeted like a lemming through dark mist and bounced off branches like a pinball off flippers. He crashed through spiky evergreens, peppering himself with pine needles. Finally landing with a rustle in a sprawling heap inside a pile of plants, he hurriedly crawled out, frantically twitching.

"Ooh! Ah! Ow! Stinging nettles!" he gasped as he crawled away from the pile and scratched himself wildly. He clawed at a nearby bush of dock leaves and rubbed his stings with them.

The boy looked around the woods, still twitching from the stings. The Forbidden Woods was a whole lot creepier than he could have imagined. He got a dreading feeling of being alone that also felt like he was being watched. Dead trees stood in front of him and a mysterious blue mist shrouded the place. It made the trees look… alive. Link uneasily got up and headed through the woods. It was cold so he could see the air in front of him. Shivering and hugging himself to stay warm, Link tried to go between two trees.

 **CRASH**!

With no warning, a set of thick vines came crashing out of the ground, sending him flying back. He skidded across the floor, leaving a furrow as he went.

"Stupid… vines!" he grunted as he got up. He approached the vines with his sword pointed at them.

"3...2...1… GO!" He counted as he hacked at the vines with his sword. Not a scratch. In fact, they somehow sent him flying back again.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!** "

The boy got up again and edged to the left. He lunged forward several times to see if more vines would come bursting out, but none did.

" _Perfect!"_ thought Link. He quickly dashed forward in case there were vines trying to trick him but still, none came out.

Link ventured through the woods, brushing cobwebs out of his face. Many were getting into his eyes, which almost caused him to plunge off a ledge.

"Argh!" cried Link, stepping back. He was now in a tubular room that was letting in all the rain from above. The rain pitter-pattered off the edge. What could he do to cross this gap?

Looking up, Link saw a rope that extended to the other side of the room. It was too slippery to climb across, but there was some kind of wooden cable car hanging from it on the other end. He had to make it clatter over to his side, but how?

Link opened his bag and looked at the leaf that was inside. _"This thing looks like it can create a big gust!"_ thought the boy. Well, worth a try, isn't it? He pulled the leaf out of his bag and gripped the stem in both hands. He then lifted it above his head and brought it down as if it were his shield. Suddenly, a gust of air launched forward, almost blowing him clean off the edge.

" _Aha! I've got it!"_ the leaf let out another blast of air, this time at the gondola. No effect.

"Oh. Silly me! How else can I get that thing over here?" mused the boy as he looked around. To his left was a little propeller made of leaves.

"Maybe that's what operates the lift..."

Link turned to the propeller and, backing against the wall to avoid another recoil incident, he blew wind at it with the Deku Leaf.

 **Klakaklakaklakaklakaklakaklaka!**

The propeller spun rapidly as the gondola gracefully slid down the rope to Link. Making sure not to fall, he slowly got on.

As Link got in, the wooden roof stopped the barrage of rain. At the front of the gondola was a set of controls. Link was fascinated. The controls consisted of a lever that could be moved up or down, a brake, a handbrake and even one with a speaker. He tilted the lever forward and the cable car began to move abruptly. The boy let out a startled yelp as the gondola jerked up the rope. He didn't dare press any button on the board in case it caused the gondola to detach. Finally, it got to the other end of the room. Hesitating to make sure it wouldn't start to go back as he got off, he finally dived out the window and onto the platform. After a pause, the gondola slid back to the start.

* * *

Link breathed a sigh of relief. Just in front of him stood a wooden door that could be pushed upwards. Before he considered going in, though, he reached into his bag for his bottle. Now seemed like a good time for a drink.

He pulled out his bottle and began drinking.

"This is the most delicious water I've ever tasted!" said Link, holding his bottle aloft like it was a treasured family heirloom. "What is in this stuff?" He took a massive gulp of water and when he looked at it again, not a single drop had gone down. "What on earth even is this?"

Suddenly, Link's charm from way back in the Forsaken Fortress started to glow green. Link jumped in surprise. He had not seen it working in ages! The pirates must have been nearby!

"Tetra! Is that you?" said Link, quickly.

"Link. That water you have in your bottle may come in useful." came a familiar voice. It was male, royal, rich and- wait, this isn't Tetra!

"Wait, King of Red Lions? How are you using this stone?" asked Link. The green glow of the stone turned to red.

"No time to talk about this. Now, that water you picked up in Forest Haven is called… Forest Water. That sounds a bit redundant, but it's very different from regular water that you bottle. Forest Water never runs out and it can be used to destroy poisoning. Kalle Demos is poisonous, so make sure you make use of it!"

Link's look of confusion and annoyance went down immediately. Wow. This was some really good advice. Good thing he bottled that water!

"There is a catch, though! Forest Water CAN run out… in a way. After thirty minutes, Forest Water will turn into regular water, which can run out. Make sure you reach Kalle Demos within that time."

"Thank you, sir!" said Link truthfully as the stone stopped glowing. He was so thankful for this information that he immediately let it go that the King was using his stone somehow. With nothing else to do here, he lifted the door and went through.

* * *

This room was very dark. Link could only make out the shadows of a few trees, some blindingly green wings and a big, yellow eyeball.

Wait, what?

The wings and eyeball began rotating clockwise until they were facing the ground. With a screech, it began jetting towards Link. He let out a yelp as he dove out of the way. The creature whizzed past him and parked on the wall above the door. Several wall lanterns attached to some trees lit up, revealing the creature to be a large moth with four luminous wings and stag-like teeth.

The beast rotated on the wall again and shot at Link like a rocket. Fire was roaring out of the back of its abdomen.

The boy held up his shield as the multicoloured monstrosity charged at him. With an almighty clang, the two collided. The moth began to close its jaws to break Link's shield in half, but the shield was lined with metal. Unless it had tungsten teeth, there was no way it was getting close.

With a grunt, Link shoved his shield forwards and into the air. Before he could land a single hit, however, the moth flew into the air defensively.

Link let out a groan of frustration. How was he going to beat this thing? He needed a ranged weapon!

Suddenly, he flashed back to when he had called the gondola over. He had taken out the Deku Leaf and shot a gust of powerful air at a propeller. Could this work on the inky insect?

Link took out the Deku Leaf, lifted it into the air and swung it as hard as he could. The ball of wind visibly shot through the air and straight into the moth. Suddenly, the monster's wings went flying off. _"They were fake!"_ though the boy as the enemy crashed to the ground. Its eye pulsed red with anger and it charged.

In this state, the monster became a pushover. Link took his weapon and thrust it forwards. The wingless enemy flew into the air and splattered against the wall in a shower of gold particles.

Link sheathed his weapons and took some time to look around the room. Spider webs hung from the ceiling. Lots of them were out of range. One was hanging extra low and was wrapped around something long, yellow and bent. Link jumped up to grab it and it ripped clean out of the webbing, revealing that it was in fact a Sea Breeze Boomerang! A lovely, yellow boomerang with a carved metal middle and a shining red jewel in the middle.

Link almost choked at the sight of this. He had been saving up for this thing when it was on sale back home and he had refrained from buying it as he left Outset because he needed to save his money on more important things. He had tried to throw a home-made boomerang that Aryll had knocked together but he couldn't even make it curve. It just flew through the air and clonked a farmer on the head. The Sea Breeze Boomerang, on the other hand, was carved for easy throwing.

Where could he try this thing out? Link looked at the size of the room he was in. If he threw it here, it would almost certainly hit the wall. There wasn't anywhere to go but out the way he came, so he headed to the door, heaved it open and went through.

* * *

When Link went through the door, he could immediately tell what was wrong. He did not enter the room with the cable car, but a different room altogether. The rain had stopped and the crystal clear night sky was clearly visible through the open-air ceiling at the top of the wooden, circular room. The stars and the moon danced like partners and a beautiful, uncurled flower sat in the middle of the room. It was light blue with dark blue edges and a white pattern resembling a snowflake sprawled out across the middle of it. Speaking of the middle, light purple stalks with green, seedy tips were growing. They swayed left and right as if there was wind blowing, but Link could hardly feel any.

"Hello?" called the boy. Maybe Makar was in here. "Makar? Are you-"

Suddenly, a slender, green vine lifted into the air and, before Link could avoid it, lashed him over the head with it like a whip.

 **WHACK!**

* * *

Swirling colours, weird shapes.

Swirling colours, weird shapes.

Swirling colours, weird shapes.

This was all Link could see for a good ten seconds of first consciousness. His arms hung limply above his head and he felt something tight wrapped around his boot. He had a splitting headache. Had gravity been reversed?

When all the swirling colours and weird shapes stopped, Link realised that gravity was the right way up. He was the one who wasn't.

The boy felt blood rushing to his head. He tried to lift himself up a little, but his leg was clamped by a vine. He did not have the upper body strength to right himself.

"Hello?" came a small voice to his left.

Link stopped his attempt to flip himself and looked to his left. In that direction was a light green leaf stuck to a little bit of wood. It was moving about. It was a Korok!

"Are you Makar?" Link said, getting increasingly nervous of the situation.

"Yes! That's me! How did you know?" the Korok turned to Link.

"What? A human?" the Korok flailed in surprise. "What did you come here for?"

"I'm Link. I came to rescue you. The Deku Tree was about to start a ceremony of some kind and-"

"Oh no! The ceremony! I forgot!" yelped Makar, swinging furiously to escape.

"Look, calm down, okay? I'm gonna get us out of this. Have you seen any sign of… Gal...Kill-Demon...l?"

"Kalle Demos?" suggested the Korok.

"Yes, her. Have you seen her?"

"She has us right now."

Link's face turned purple. Partly from being upside down and partly because of fear. The vine wrapped around his leg belonged to Kalle Demos. Evidently, they were both in danger. They both hung there in silence like meat at the butchers for a while before Link broke the silence. "I'll get us out of here. Just hold on."

With that, Link took his sword out and began to swing it. A chill slithered up his spine, almost making him drop Trusty Rusty to the floor... above.

"What was that?" shuddered Link, looking behind him. That wasn't a chill of fear, it felt like it had actually, physically happened, like someone running a finger up your back.

"What was what? Are you okay, Link? Did you get the heeby jeeb-EEEEEE!" squealed Makar as the same thing happened to him. Suddenly, a deep, baritone voice boomed across the room.

" **Oh, cut it out, you lout!** "

Suddenly, Makar yelped and started whimpering. "T-t-that's her!"

"What? That's a girl?"

"No time for that! She's awake!"

The booming voice came again. "Darn **right** I am! And I am ready for **BREAKFAST,** boy!"

Wasting no more time, Link gripped his sword and began hacking at the vine binding his leg.

"Oh my, oh my, kid, haven't you been told? Never turn to brute force, or you'll never get gold!" belted the plant.

"Oh, great(!) A singing plant!" Link began hacking harder to try and free himself and attack the plant.

"That dinky sword can't harm my vine! Stop right now or you'll look just like a swine! YEAH!"

Link either expected Kalle Demos to be a mute monster or one that would just hiss and spit or make nonsensical noises. He didn't expect her to speak, let alone sing, let alone have that masculine of a voice! He just about saw the opened, gigantic bud in the middle of the room that looked like what launched him over to the Forbidden Woods in the first place, but then he saw that this was where the vines snaked out from...

"You know what, kid? You're way too tall! I can't eat you, so you can kiss the wall!"

The vine holding Link swung and let go, sending him flying through the air and into the wall. He slid down onto the wet floor below. His face was stinging from the impact and it was hard to move from being upside down for so long.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Help!" squeaked Makar. His little voice forced Link up and had him running to the giant flower. Suddenly, the purple stalks rose into the air, revealing a plant similar to the one encountered one the outside of forest haven. She was purple like her home, had glowing green eyes and had a blindingly blue mouth. Green saliva dripped from it and sizzled against the ground like sausages on a grill. The stalks were really just growths on top of her head.

The plant hissed as she started beating her vines on the ground to a rhythm. She had a LOT of vines, so she formed a coherent tune. Very tuneless, but it was still... music, I suppose you could call it. One of them whizzed through the air and knocked Link to the floor, keeping him pinned and from interfering. The drum roll of the vines got faster and faster as it slowly lifted Makar towards its opening mouth.

"Help! Help! I don't want in there!" squealed Makar as the monster lowered him sadistically slowly to her salivating gob.

"Makar! Hold on! I'm coming!" grunted Link, trying to remove the vine that was holding him against the floor like a seat belt. Even from all the way there, he could see that Makar's leaf was shifting wildly as he tried to break free. Finally, Link chopped the binding vine clean off and sprinted to the drama, but it was too late. The vindictive vegetable wrapped her mouth around the Korok and swallowed him perfectly with a sickening gulp. Link almost fainted out of nausea as Kalle Demos started applauding with her vines. She let out a massive, mocking laugh, her voice cracking repeatedly as she did so.

" **AH HA HA HA HA HA! AAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA!** "

As her cracking cackling filled the room, the petals of her massive flower attached to the ceiling, using most of her vines. The petals lifted upwards until the whole flower turned into an impenetrable bud. It looked like a giant puppet.

And as with any puppet, it was bound to its supports with strings. Its support vines that it used to attack glowed with electricity as it slammed them to the floor to try and shock her opponent.

Link had seen Kalle's saliva dripping onto the floor and sizzling, and that was just her saliva. What must her stomach acid be like? He had to act fast or Makar would be roast lettuce. Suddenly, an idea shot into the boy's head. He yanked out his Sea Breeze Boomerang, lined it up and chucked it with a bit of power, but not enough to interrupt its spin. The contraption spun through the air and began to turn.

With satisfying snaps, all the vines connecting to the ceiling were severed by the boomerang as it made its way back to base!

"Yes!" Link caught the boomerang and sprinted to tear the plant apart as her petals flopped to the floor. As he sprinted towards her, he noticed that she was just… watching him, as if she knew something that he didn't.

The boy ignored this and began slashing at the exposed head as hard as he could. Whatever it was made of, her hide was VERY tough. About thrice as tough as the steak Granny would forget about and accidentally burn. Link's sword hardly made it flinch!

"That titchy sword ain't gonna do nothing to me, ya **HEAR?** " boasted Kalle, speaking this time. As Link swung at her, she caught his sword in her mouth and swallowed it.

"Argh!" Link ran away before turning to face her. "Give that back!"

Suddenly, he began to regret his choice of words. A smug grin of realisation crossed Kalle's face.

"HAH! If you say so!" With an exaggerated spitting nose, the monster spat Trusty Rusty at Link. It flew at him like a dart before sticking into the wall, taking his hat with it.

"Right, that does it! No one messes with my hat!" growled Link as he pulled his sword out of the wall and put his hat back on.

"Oh, actually, I think I just did, greenie! **AH HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!** "

To say that Link was mad would be an understatement. The fellow was **FURIOUS**. Red-faced in anger, he sprinted at the plant and slashed it directly in the neck. With a scream, the plant quickly stood erect before slumping to the floor.

Link wasted no time in using his hands to open the fallen flora's mouth and call inside as if it were a megaphone. "Makar? Makar?! Makar! Are you in there? Answer me!" called Link, desperately. Suddenly he felt two hard surfaces clamp around him as the plant rose back up, pulling him up with her.

" **AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA!** You thought my neck was my weakness? I'm not a weakling like those simpleton Koroks and their daddy tree! My only weakness is a vegan, and I am not one, as I shall demonstrate on **you**!"

Despite having no teeth, Kalle was slamming her mouth open and shut repeatedly and Link was fast losing consciousness. All the slamming was winding him, Kalle's breath stank of a Rafflesia, her insides made Link feel sick, her saliva was burning him, all the jostling was making him feel dizzy and he was getting poisoned by…

" _Wait, the Forest Water!"_

Link reached for the bottle of Forest Water attached to his waist. Instantly, he pulled the cork off and a never-ending amount poured into Kalle Demos' throat. All of the plant's electricity ran wild and electrocuted her head.

" **AaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrGgGgGgGgGgGgGgGgGgGgGgHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHh!"** screamed the plant. She was not the only target. Since Link was trapped in her mouth, he was also getting shocked to the point of excruciation. " **FoRrRrRrReSt WaTeR! My OnLy WeAkNeSs!"**

The plant then almost uttered something I can't write down or the computer might burst into flames, before her stem exploded in a mix of fire and electricity. Still stuck in the mouth of the severed head, Link flew through the air with it and it landed with a thump on the floor at the far side of the room.

* * *

Kalle Demos, Flora Demon, the parasitic plant of the Forbidden Woods, was dead, no fake-outs this time. Link was still coursing with electricity and was having violent spasms inside the plant's sizzling mouth. He tried to free himself, but only ended up turning 90 degrees. Now, he was trapped sideways. He looked like a slice of lettuce in a purple burger. Finally, he mustered the strength to creak open the limp gob and slump onto the ground ahead of it. He was covered in burning saliva but he did not notice. He was too busy thinking about his failure.

If Makar hadn't already been digested when Link killed the beast, then that explosion would have definitely finished him off. What a horrible way to die... Link wanted to have been done with the Forbidden Woods and never go back but now that he had failed, he wanted to travel back in time and do it all again. Every moment in the woods felt… precious.

Wait, no. That's going too far.

Link convulsed with electricity once more as he buried his head in his hands.

"How will I ever face the Great Deku Tree? He'll... He'll be so upset..." he whimpered as he buzzed with electricity once more.

"Mmmph!" came a muffled, squeaky voice from the wilted petals at the centre of the room. Link looked up, a tiny sliver of hope in his eyes.

"M-M-Makar?" he stuttered. The leaves in the middle of the petals started moving around.

"Where is the exit to this thing? Who has a maze built in their stomach?" groaned the very annoyed voice. The vegetation in the middle started moving more and more frequently. "Ah! I see light! I'm nearly there!" Finally, a little, black shape popped out of a hole in the ground and waddled over to Link. As Link's vision stopped blurring, he could see that Makar was standing in front of him. He was burned black and dripping with saliva, but he was alive.

Link breathed onto his shirt and tried to wipe his eyes with it. He looked at Makar again. He definitely wasn't seeing things. "Are you a ghost?" Link asked uncertainly as his voice broke.

Makar flicked some green saliva from his ears. "Burning toast? Well, that's what I feel like right now!"

"MAKAR!" Link leaped up and scooped the little guy into a massive hug that lifted him clean into the air. He was quite a bit shorter than the other Koroks, only coming up to Link's upper shins. Link skidded to a stop painfully on his knees, but he did not notice at all.

"Please put me down, Link!" wheezed Makar. "I can't breathe! Owowowow!"

"Oh, shoot!" Link put the critter down. "Sorry! I was certain that I had killed you with that explosion! Are you OK?"

The Korok gave a sigh of disgust at the saliva he was covered in. He shook his little body like a dog, sending it everywhere.

"Yes, I'm fine. Koroks may be weak against poison, but I suppose I passed through that part of Kalle Demos' body fast enough! We may be weak against poison, but we resist dissolving acids!"

Link looked at the blackened Korok before him as he extended the remainder of his Forest Water over him.

"Sorry about this. I just need to clean you off..." He took off the cork again and an endless stream of water poured over Makar. Almost immediately, his colour returned. With the sound of magic dispersing… whatever that sounds like, the water stopped sparkling and ran out, rendering the bottle empty. The boy looked at the bottle in surprise before remembering what the king had told him.

"Thank you, Mr. Swordsman!" chirped Makar.

Still, there was a single problem: How were they going to get back? Was some portal going to just swoop in and conveniently whisk them back to Forest Haven?

 **Whoosh!**

The two looked over at the wilted petals. A vortex of visible wind was swirling around and around and around. "Oh, nice! This is the Great Deku Tree's doing!" trilled Makar.

"...Sorry?" Link was more than confused at this.

"The Great Deku Tree can make portals out of wind and place them anywhere he wants within a certain distance!"

Oh! Whenever I say something, it just pops up out of nowhere! Lets make this story more interesting, shall we? Ahem… 'Helicopter made of gold'!

…

…

…

No? I figured as much. Let's just go back to the story, shall we?

Link tucked the Korok under his arm and stepped into the portal of wind. He slowly began to rise into the air, spinning faster and faster and faster. Link blinked and in that moment, he was back at Forest Haven.

All the Koroks were talking nervously about what was happening. Link could not understand what was going on. Neither could Makar.

"Er ist schon lange weg."

"Ich hoffe er lebt!"

"Und auch Makar!"

"Ich kann ihn jetzt zurückkehren sehen. Er wird Makar bei sich haben und - Warte eine Minute!"

You can probably understand those last three words if you say them out loud. Anyway, all the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree froze in their tracks. All of a sudden, several Korok all came charging towards the two. Link put down Makar so he could reunite with his friends. Immediately, he disappeared amongst the hugging stampede due to his height. Several other Koroks surrounded Link and began hugging him profusely. Loud sobbing caused all the Koroks and Link to freeze.

Several Koroks went over to Makar. Link could very clearly see that the poor guy was in crashing waves of dew tears.

" **Makar! Why are you so distressed? Are you all right?** " said the Great Deku Tree warmly. Makar continued cowering.

"I'm sorry, Great Deku Tree! You told us all to never go near the Forbidden Woods, but I don't know what came over me!" whimpered the Korok. "Please don't haate me!"

" **I know what came over you. Linder told me everything. Kalle Demos lured you over to her with her voice. It was one of her talents. I haven't heard her for a while now... so I assume she is dead.** "

Makar looked up. He then turned his head to Linder before racing forward and hugging him tightly. All the Koroks cheered.

" **Right! Now that we have no more problems, we can begin our ceremony!** "

That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually! Why don't you press that button to the right to start the ceremony? It'll be worth your while!


	14. Dead Calm

Makar relaxed and put his arms straight to his sides. Two glowing balls of energy appeared on the ends and started growing into shapes. One into a kind of… bow and arrow shape and the other was the shape of a cello. With a flash of light, they solidified, revealing a violin and a bow., both made of sticks and leaves.

Well, I was almost right!

Makar was so short, that he had to play his instrument like a cello. He pressed the bottom down on the lily pad as it rose into the air once again. The instrument stood taller than him as he drew his bow to the strings.

"Mr. Swordsman, since I am feeling especially good today, I shall try as hard as I can to not get distracted, and that's not easy!" declared Makar.

" **Ist jeder bereit?** " asked the Great Deku Tree. All the other Koroks started shouting approval in German, but poor little Makar seemed a little stuck. Linder nudged his arm and whispered something to him. After he was done, Makar put his head up and looked at the Deku Tree.

"J-J-Jawohl." He muttered before turning to Link.

"Yeah, I never figured out this language! I seemed to just… learn English as I was being taught German!"

Before Link could respond, the Great Deku Tree began counting down again. **"** **Drei, Zwei, Eins, LOS!** "

Makar took a breath and slid the bow across his violin. The instrument made a chirpy noise. He took another breath and…

Lovely notes came off the strings as the little Korok played furiously. It was a very happy and upbeat tune that sounded like it would play on one of those videos you would do as a baby where you're in a fake car setup in front of a greenscreen and you pretend to drive a tractor through farms and fields.

Did you do that or was it just me?

Even the fireflies were dancing along to the catchy rhythm. Everything green was joining in, including Link.

Suddenly, several Koroks popped up from the eyebrows of the tree and started singing.

" **Daaaaaaa…"**

" **DAAAAAAAAAAAAA…"**

They did need practice, but they were clearly trying. It seemed to be working as well because something in the high branches of the Great Deku Tree started glowing. Link looked up at it as it glowed a brighter and brighter shade of green.

" **Heads up!** " announced the Great Deku Tree. The glow fell out of the tree and began to fall towards the boy. He was mesmerised by its green glow, so he reached his arms out to grab it…

 **Clonk!**

The glowing item hit Link in the head, causing him to fall clean off the lily pad. He landed with a splash in the water below.

 **Clonk!**

The glowing thing had bounced into the air and hit Link again as he lay sprawled in the water.

The ceremony abruptly stopped. Several Koroks tried to stifle laughs but Makar jumped down to check on him.

"Are you all right, Link?"

The boy sat up and looked a the green, glowing light in the water next to him. When he picked it up, it felt round and magical. The glow went down a little bit, revealing that it was a green pearl with a dark green emblem on the front. It was Farore's Pearl!

Several Koroks flew up into the air and into the branches atop the Deku Tree. After much rummaging around, they emerged. Each one was now carrying a large seed.

"What a great harvest of seeds this year!" squeaked one Korok.

"We'll plant them on uninhabited islands all across the Great Sea to spread more forests!" chirped another. In the blink of an eye, they all flew away.

Only Makar remained.

* * *

"I'll miss all of those Koroks." muttered Makar.

" **I know you will, my friend, but be aware that you are very important. We need you to stay here so you can keep power running through the pearl, no matter where it is.** " explained the Great Deku Tree.

Makar turned to Link.

"Link… Good luck on your… mission. I hope that our pearl can help you."

"Oh, it will! I wonder where I have to go next." mused Link. Makar used his samara to fly into the air and into the top branches of the Great Deku Tree. Link got up, soaked with water. He was about to leave when a little voice stopped him.

"Mr. Swordsman!"

Link turned around to see another Korok waddling towards him. This one was autumn brown and wore a brown leaf to match. He carried two sticks with sharp leaves hanging off the end.

The little Korok bowed politely before producing a flask from behind him. "Greetings, Mr. Swordsman! My name is Hollo and I run the apothecary of Forest Haven!"

Link bowed back to him before folding himself down to talk with the Korok. "What did you come here for, Mr. Hollo?"

"I wanted to offer you this for the time being! A swordsman's journey can only get harder, but I can remedy it!" With that, he raised his shiny flask skyward, the moonlight bouncing off of it and into the river. "This Blue Potion here can give you energy! It can also refresh your time limit with the Deku Leaf! May you present your bottle, please?"

"Interesting..." mused Link, taking his bottle out and unscrewing the top. Still, the Korok was so much smaller than him that he had to lean as high as he could to reach. Slowly, gently, he poured the steaming blue liquid inside and Link popped the cork in.

"Come back any time you want, Mr. Swordsman! It would be an honour for you to return some day!"

Link smiled and reached down, ruffling Hollo's leafy hair. "Of course I can make room for that. Of course."

* * *

Link walked to the King of Red Lions on the shore of Forest Haven and almost fell as he sauntered in. Today had really taken it out of him. He thought the worst of it was over with Gohma, but a giant plant that sings as she brutally beats her opponents with vines... and terrible rhyming skills, not to mention?

"Ah, so he's back! How did your mission go?" asked the boat. Link responded by pulling out Farore's Pearl. "Great! Two down, one to go! Our next destination is northwest of here! It is a town called 'Greatfish Isle'. A cave on that island houses a water spirit called Jabun. We must go to him, explain our situation and he will most likely give us Nayru's Pearl." the King explained. Link was barely paying attention. He was exhausted.

"All right, let's go. Grapefruit... I mean, what's-its-name... island..."

Link conducted the wind northwest. This time, the wind didn't even seem to mind. It didn't push him around, it didn't mess with him, it just blew northwest. Link weakly stomped on the sail button and the boat took off.

* * *

About halfway into the trip, Link felt little plops of rain on his face again. This was very lucky. He needed the cold to wake him up a bit, otherwise he might have capsized the boat, crashed into a rock or even another boat. Dark clouds blotted out the moon and stars entirely. Link got a cold chill.

"Um… Sir? How much further until we reach... Greatfish?" asked the boy. The boat's figurehead quivered.

"We are nearly there, but I fear… that this night is not natural." he replied gravely. Link was distracted from his worry when he saw a large island rising into the air in the distance. It had several pieces to it and it was surrounded by giant rock spires which were stabbing into the sky. A giant, black cloud loomed over it and ruins adorned the-

" **OH, MY GOODNESS!** " shouted the King as they drew closer and closer to the island.

The island's shape was not normal. Neither were the ruins atop the wreckage.

* * *

Looking for somewhere to stop, the two settled on the remains of a shore that extended through two spires. The wind suddenly picked up into a gale, forcing Link to put a hand on his hat. Even though it usually stayed on no problem, he felt like it was about to go flying off.

"How dare they… Greatfish Isle… Jabun… Where is he?" growled the King to himself, quivering. Whether it was from a rare display of rage or the cold was unknown to the boy. Link looked around for any sign of a water spirit. Nothing showed up. Not even the shadow of a fish rose to the surface.

"I knew time was of the essence, but I didn't think that we had this little time!"

Link simply approached the boat and spoke calmly.

"Sir, this isn't your fault. I'm sure Jabun is safe."

The King seemed a little surprised. "What? Where could he be?"

"We'll just have to search other islands until we find him. Maybe he moved to a large island like Dragon Roost or something like that."

The King was silent for a while before finally sighing and looking down. "It's unlikely. Jabun doesn't just live in the open. He is very large, so he makes his home in caves. Do you know any places with a cave?"

Link began to think hard. He was certain that he had known somewhere with a cave, but he had no recollection of where. All he knew was that he hadn't been there for a long time.

The wind howled in his ears. It almost sounded like a call.

"Hoooooooy… Hoooooooy..."

The wind got more and more violent. Link could even hear his name in it now.

"Hooooooy… Link! Hoooooooy! **HOOOOOY!** "

"Wait a minute!" Link looked towards where the sound was coming from and saw a silhouette flying towards him, clearly having trouble keeping in the air. With barely a hesitation, Link knew exactly who it was.

"Quill!" he shouted out, beginning to jump on the spongy sand and wave as if signalling a plane. "I'm down here!"

Quill began circling the island to try and find him. He began hovering around Link. The wind violently changed directions and Quill was no longer able to stay airborne. He spiralled to the splintered beach with a loud gasp and spreadeagled face-first into the solid sand.

"Quill! Are you OK?" Link helped the postman get up, who was now covered in wet sand. An imprint of a sand angel was now pressed into the beach.

"Yes, I'm fine! But I'm glad that you're fine! I've been looking everywhere for you! It's... It's about this island. I know what you're doing here."

"Do you know about Jabun?" asked Link. A hint of desperation slithering into his voice.

"That's what I came here to tell you! Ganon has destroyed this island looking for him. He knows that this is where Nayru's Pearl lies! Those pirates are-" He quickly cut himself off, sliding back awkwardly as if he was pretending he said the wrong word by mistake.

"What? What business do they have with Jabun? Do they think he's a monster? Please tell them he's not!"

Quill cringed, rubbed his neck and weakly continued.. "Well… They asked me if I knew where you were. I thought I could trust them with this information. They tricked me. One of the large ones in the green shirt seemed especially worried about you, so I told him about your journey and all about the last pearl. They didn't even wait for me to finish speaking. They got onto their ship and began sailing west, that one guy screaming 'TO WINDFALL ISLAND! That pearl will make us a fortune!' I'm very sorry I gave you away." he explained.

Link felt like he had just had a heart attack. He almost yanked the Pirate's Charm off his neck and hurled it into the ocean, but he stopped himself when he almost cut his hand on it. How? Why? Why would Tetra allow this to happen? Why did Gonzo pretend to be worried for him? Did that mean... his care for him on Outset was also a facade? If Quill was correct, then that meant Tetra and Gonzo and probably even the others knew about how much he needed that pearl. They were treating his desire to free his sister as if it were... a competition!

"Do they now have the pearl?" asked Link, his face wet with rain and tears. His fist clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palm.

"Not yet." Quill replied. He pulled a log from his bag and began reading off of it. "Jabun does not live on Windfall Island... According to my log here, Jabun, in case he is in need of mail for some reason... is rumoured to live on... Isla Initia..."

"What does that mean?" Link hurriedly said. Quill quickly looked over at the English translation of the log.

"Jabun is in a cave at the back of the island where you were born and raised: Outset Island."

"What?!"

Quill stepped back, startled.

"I need to leave right now! My island is in Jeopardy!"

"Why?" asked Quill. Link turned around, looking desperate to leave.

"Clearly, Ganon destroyed this island because Jabun is here! If he finds out where he's fled to, who knows what he'll do to Outset?!"

Quill stumbled over his words, starting about seven sentences before he found a good way to word one. "Link, I understand your concern for your island. The problem is, Jabun allegedly conjured a statue over his cave. There would be no way to get in and see him. I think you should follow the pirates to Windfall and try and find what they're looking for so that you can remove the obstruction. You must consider your circumstances. What would you rather do? Follow the pirates and let a bit of time out or go to Outset and get stuck at the entrance of the cave?"

Link was in quite the dilemma. What would he do? Go to Windfall and find something to break down the statue, but give Ganon more time to find Jabun himself? Or should he just go straight to Outset and take his chances? If he was wrong... he had a long, long trip to the other side of the Great Sea, which would eat up even more time.

Link thought and thought and thought as the wind howled in his ears. For him, for anyone, this was not an easy decision to make. Finally, he looked straight at Quill's golden eyes.

"All right, I'll go to Windfall… Thank you very much for talking sense into me. You were right for telling me off. I was thinking too fast."

Quill's face dropped in guilt. "I wasn't trying to tell you off, Link. It's just… I thought you were going to make an avoidable mistake."

"I need to go. This island seems to get more dangerous by the second." Link said as he started to head back to his boat.

"That's good. Good luck at Windfall!"

With that, Quill leaped into the air and shot upwards, screaming wildly because an updraught had sent him flying even faster than he anticipated. It then threw him off in the wrong direction entirely. Now, being in the air was like being in the sea, only it was easier to breathe.

After that, everything was calm.

Dead calm.

* * *

"So, the pirates are after Nayru's Pearl as well! Blast! Just what we need!" muttered the King as Link hauled himself onto the deck and stomped the sail button. The wind was dramatically changing direction and now it was blowing northeast. The boy and his boat shot off towards Windfall.

"In these conditions, it should take an hour to get to Windfall." deduced the King.

Link slapped himself across the face. "I must stay awake! I can't... go on like this or I'll get us both killed!"

The King seemed disturbed by his behaviour. "Link, take it easy. You've had a rough time lately. Controlling a vehicle while tired is dangerous. Maybe you should get some sleep and I'll steer myself."

 **CRUMP!**

The moment the boat had finished talking, Link had dropped to the floor, curled up on the deck like a cat and fallen asleep instantly.

The king was simultaneously shocked and impressed by this talent of falling asleep. "Sleep well, hero. I shall wake you come arrival." he declared.

* * *

"Link."

Link woke up, rainwater dripping on his face. The boat had steered itself all the way to Windfall, yet the sun still had not risen.

"Look over there." said the King, pointing his figurehead over to the left. Link followed his gaze. To the left of Windfall sat the pirate ship that Link had used to go to the Forsaken Fortress. Looking back at it made his heart heavy. Back then, they seemed like all right people. They were just about willing to help him. Now they only cared about themselves and getting as much money as humanely possible. "It seems that the pirates have moored at this side of town to avoid drawing the attention of the townsfolk."

"I can't believe they would do this… They might end up getting the world destroyed if they take that pearl. All just to make money."

"You seem really upset about this." said the King of Red Lions as Link pulled into the same cove he'd found himself in days ago.

"Yes! I certainly am!" Link said this rather strongly. Even he was surprised by his own tone.

"I see. You most definitely have the right to be cross, but don't let that make you… reckless. I recommend that you find out what the pirates are up to… without them finding out about you."

"Right."

Link picked up some of the dry sand under the cove and placed it in a bag. "I hope I won't have to use this… but if I need to make a swift getaway, it'll have to do."

Still fatigued, Link put his sand on his belt and marched out into the rain.

* * *

Windfall Island used to be a lively, cheerful place but now it was a bleak, desolate ghost town. Link walked up the field to the town entrance. The big arch that led inside used to be proud and white, now it was a light brown colour because of the muddy rain falling from the sky.

Instead of going into the main town, Link headed up the hill to the left. His boots were filled with sand from walking up the beach. The sand was caked in water from the field in the middle of the island. It was REALLY annoying, like having dozens of stones in your shoes in a position where you can't remove them. Between plops of rainwater, Link could hear a voice ahead.

"One… two… THREE! No, that's not it… Um… Turn… to… DAAAAY!"

Link kept pushing up the hill towards the source of the voice. Just in the distance was a dancing shadow.

"Tott?"

The shape turned around, still disco dancing up a storm... I mean, maybe. He was most likely not the cause of this infernal rain.

"What? What are you doing out here this late?" exclaimed Tott.

"I could ask the same thing!"

"I'm trying to nail this rhythm that can apparently change night into day and vice versa! Night has been going on for far too long! I just want this rain to stop!"

A song to change night into day? Maybe this was the solution to the rain. After all, it couldn't just go on forever.

Deciding to help, Link produced the Wind Waker and began to count the beats out loud.

"1...2...3...1...2...3…"

"That's it! That's it! One beat per second! 3/4 time! I have the rhythm! I am remembering the moves!"

Tott suddenly began dancing once more. He pointed to the left, then to the right, spun in circles and touched the floor.

"Yeah! Yeah! Pow!"

" _Left… Right… Down."_ thought the boy, moving his baton in those directions. The wind began singing again. This time, it was a short tune that conveyed weariness, yet a feeling of getting ready to face the day at the same time. The wind all took off to the sky, but in seconds it was fleeing back down and hiding behind Link.

"What? What just happened? Was the night supposed to turn into day? WHY IS NOTHING WORKING?" shouted Tott, exasperated.

"I did feel something. It felt like whatever song I conducted tried to work, but couldn't. Well, thanks anyway. You tried."

* * *

Link left fast and headed through the back entrance to the town. It too, was deserted. After heading through for a while, he passed a door.

 **Hiss! Boom!**

That sounded promising! Link looked through the little hatch. He could just about make out a red coat behind a counter. A pirate! Ransacking a shop for something!

" **Aha!** "

Link burst into the room, drawing his sword and pointing it at the bandit. A bald man wearing green goggles suddenly threw his flask in the air and began juggling it wildly like a clown in an attempt to catch it.

"Goodness, young man! Haven't your parents ever told you not to make people jump during dangerous work?" he spluttered as he caught the flying flask. His name tag read 'Doc Bandam'.

"Sorry… I thought you were… someone else." muttered the boy.

"Well, don't look so down, fellow! One of my potions should do the trick! I'll just brew up a special kind of potion and it should give you a clear hint to where the person you're looking for is!"

Mr. Bandam turned around and headed to his setup. He began distilling substances from blue plants with an advanced looking contraption of a kind. Blue liquid swirled around tubes that snaked across the ceiling and finally dropped down into his flask. "So, boy, who is it that you're looking for? Tell me clearly or the potion won't hear!"

Link hesitated before answering. "Um… Pirates, sir."

Just as he said this, a big explosion roared out of Bandam's tube. He slowly turned around, blackened by the blast. He looked like he had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. "Well… there's your hint. It seems to be something explosive. My potions have a terrible sense of humour."

" _Explosive… Explosive… Explosive… The bomb shop!"_ thought Link. He was intending to never return to that old place, but he was surprised that he'd never thought of it before! It made perfect sense: Jabun was sealed in an old cave by a statue. They also had a catapult on their ship, which Link had found out the hard way and…

Wait, there was one problem: The bombs were about as expensive as today's petrol prices. There was no way they could possibly afford them. Whichever individual held the highest rupee capacity in the Great Sea would have struggled to buy them, even.

"Thank you, Doc Banana!" called Link as he left the chemist.

"It's… 'Bandam'..." groaned the blackened doctor as he toppled over backwards. As he did, a loud poof of soot flushed into the air.

 **PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!**

* * *

Link sprinted over to Cannon's shop. The lights were all on. A good sign! He leaned against the front door to listen in on what was going on.

"Yes! We did it! He won't be bothering us for a-"

"Wait! There's someone outside! I can see him!"

"What? Wait right here! I have an idea! AHEM! Whaddaya doin' 'ere so lait ad night? The shap's clowsed, ya filthy animal! Beedit!"

Link rolled his eyes. Even though that was something that the vendor would say, that was DEFINITELY not his voice. It sounded more like what an emperor penguin would sound like if it had vocal chords.

"You absolute IDIOT!" screeched another voice, much younger than the first. "That sounds nothing like the owner!"

"Well, I fooled him! I can't hear him brushing against the door any more!"

Stifling a laugh, Link backed away from the front door. He had to try and find a way to sneak in undetected.

Was this possible, though?


	15. James Blonde

Link was still staring at the bomb shop. He could definitely hear rummaging sounds in there, but how on earth could he get in?

He inspected the right side.

He looked at the left side.

On the left was a little ledge that extended behind the building and onto a plateau behind the shop.

" _Maybe there's a window over there or something."_ thought the boy. He put his back against the wall and began shuffling across the ledge sideways. One wrong move would send him falling off the small cliff ahead and into the sea, which would waste a lot of time. He had to be careful so as not to alert the pirates inside with his sword and shield scuffing the wall like chalk on a blackboard.

Finally, Link got to the back end of the shop, almost falling at the last hurdle. Luckily, he just about managed a diving save and he landed on the grassy bit of land behind the shop. He turned and looked for an entrance route. Any way in would do. Even if he somehow had to swing across a pit of lava by a bunch of ropes that were on fire.

A bunch of vines were growing on the back end of the building. They extended all the way up to the roof.

" _Perfect! Maybe there's a chimney up there."_

And so, Link wrapped his fingers around a clump of the vines and began to climb. It was very difficult with the rain. Have you ever tried to climb up one of those unused football goal arches in the park? Well, try it in the rain. This was like doing that, but with several bendy ones all congregated together.

The vines were very thick and firmly planted into the wall, so they easily took his weight. Link put his arm up to the roof and hauled himself up. From here, the boy could see a square of light just about in front of him, just big enough to accommodate his size.

It was a hole in the wall! Obviously, something had happened and the vendor was too stingy to fix it.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the boy got on his stomach and crawled inside, his sword and shield scraping the ceiling as he went.

* * *

Link ended up on a large shelf in an alcove above the bomb shop. A ceiling fan was whirring up in front of him. Link peeked his head over the side and looked into the shop, scanning the room.

The pirates were hard at work. Gonzo and Mako were holding back the shop master, who was gagged with a white cloth and tied up in thick ropes. Muffled screaming was seeping through his gag.

" **MMMMMPH! MMMMMMPH!** "

Link felt harsh satisfaction in his heart. This was the guy that tried to blow him up earlier. If anyone deserved to be robbed, it was the robber himself.

Senza and Nudge were carrying giant crates of bombs in and out the door. _"Lucky that they didn't come out while I was at the door!"_ thought Link. He kept watch from the shelf, sticking his head back in when someone looked in his direction.

He was like a secret agent.

A spy.

Maybe he could star as a spy in a movie.

 **James Blonde: On Her Bossiness' Surreptitious Service**

Oh, wait. No. I'll get sued for that..

"Oh, stop moaning! What did you expect by charging these kinds of prices? Did you never see this coming?" came the voice of the small pirate with cracked glasses, Mako. "Think of this as payback for this monopoly that you've been running!" He turned to a large man in a green shirt and red bandanna."Gonzo, I still can't believe that bit of smooth talking you pulled on that bumbling postie at Greatfish!"

Gonzo narrowed one eye in confusion and scratched his head. "What?" he murmered. "Oh, that! Oh, yeah! That!" he added very quickly and unconvincingly. "When I first saw that kid, I knew, just KNEW, that he was hiding something back at Outset, so I just… pretended to be worried about him! Yeah! And then, he tells us everything we need!"

...Really?

From how the man treated him back on Outset, it was clear he actually had concern for him. No doubt about it. Plus, Link had a guardian figure in Granny, unlike most others who shared his name, so he knew how to convincingly tell a fib every now and then. He'd deny it if you asked him, but he did.

"Yes, he spilled the beans all right," said Mako. "He pointed to Outset so hard that he knocked the tin out of my hands! We'll have to have something else with our fish!"

That last remark caught Link off guard, and he snorted in laughter. Reacting fast, he withdrew out of sight.

"W-w-what was that?" whimpered Gonzo. "Is it the police?"

"Don't be silly!" cackled Mako. "If we were caught by the police, they'd probably join in!"

Gonzo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Back on topic, Gonzo, you've never shown brains like that before? Have you been hiding that from us?" continued the bespectacled bandit.

"Um, yeah!… Surprise!..." chortled Gonzo, weakly. Link rolled his eyes back at his little hiding hole.

"I say, if you and Tetra got together and had a kid, that pirate would be the strongest, most cleverest pirate of the seven seas!"

Link suddenly jolted up, whacking his head on the roof of the tunnel. Gonzo nearly choked and it Mako smirked at the reactions.

Gonzo slapped his hand over Mako's mouth. "SSSSHHHH! Quiet, you fool!" he hissed. "She's right there!"

Link stopped cringing and pricked up his ears. So Tetra was here. He didn't know how to feel. She had apparently betrayed him and that hurt, but he felt a little hope that this might not be the case. Who's to say that this wasn't the idea of the rest of the crew and they were pulling a stealth op off under her nose?

"Zip it, the pair of you!" snapped Tetra's voice. Link looked over the edge a little more. He could just about see Tetra, standing against the wall with her arms crossed. She looked a little stern. Weird, considering that her crew was really raking in the explosives.

"Sorry, miss!" whimpered Mako as he recoiled a little.

"Now is no time to make jokes!" Tetra began marching over to the two. "You saw the state of Greatfish! We need to set sail for Outset immediately!"

All of the pirates looked at her in bewilderment.

"With respect, Miss Tetra, you seem more concerned about the island than the treasure!" said Gonzo. Tetra turned bright red.

"N-no! N-n-not at all! it's just that we need load the bombs onto the ship and we can go! Then we'll be all done!"

Link gasped in dread. If the pirates left at this point, his little sailboat would never beat their massive pirate ship.

A loud medley of groans came from the boys.

"But, Miiiiiss! We haven't been ashore for days now!" moaned Gonzo. Tetra turned even redder with fury.

"What are you trying to say?" she pressed. Gonzo began to sweat through his bandana.

"I was thinking… We need to fill up on nourishment tonight! Party tonight and shove off tomorrow! See what kind of food this place has to offer! The treasure isn't on legs! It's going nowhere!" suggested Gonzo.

Tetra gave him a look that could have sent Gohma AND Kalle Demos simultaneously running for the hills.

"W-w-w-well, your idea is good as well… it's just… Who's with me?!"

Gonzo looked over to the other pirates. A chorus of approval roared out of the Pirates as Gonzo gave a smug grin.

"For goodness' sake! Look, all right, maybe I am concerned about Outset... but protecting it is probably what Link would have wanted. He deserved better than getting thrown to a watery grave..." Tetra looked upwards with a look of regret, seeing a green figure hiding in a hole in the upper wall.

Link made a panicked blowing noise and withdrew from sight. After a few heart-pounding seconds, he looked over the edge. Tetra was still watching. She looked like she thought she was seeing things. Still, Link slowly backed away and out of sight.

Instead of hurrying the crew to the ship, she… gave him a wink. The same one that she had given him just before they used him as a cannonball in the Forsaken Fortress.

"Oh, have it your way, then! However, we'll be setting sail the second we see a hint of light from the sun, so don't sleep in!" ordered Tetra.

"YES!" Gonzo punched the air triumphantly.

All the pirates roared in delight and charged at the door while Tetra simply shrugged and followed, looking back at Link's ledge.

Had she just deliberately given him a head start? If so, Link was going to use it!

* * *

Link was about to crawl back out the way he came, when the bomb vendor's muffled shouting caught his attention.

"What do **you** want?" Link said, coldly.

" **MMMMMPH! HLLLLLLPH!** "

It was clear that the man wanted help. Link was considering just leaving him, but then he realised that the man did need to do several things that he wouldn't be able to do if he was wrapped up like a pound of beef. He couldn't bring himself to just run away.

Link gave an exasperated sigh and jumped off the ledge. He then turned the man around and tried to pull apart the ropes restraining him.

...Nope. Dead end.

...Another no. A constrictor knot? Seriously?

"Wait one moment and hold still." Link ordered, "These knots are too tough to undo. I need to use my sword."

With that, Link drew Trusty Rusty and sawed it back and forth across the ropes gently. After a few movements, Link had cut through all the ropes and they lay on the floor like a group of snakes that had all killed each other in a fight. Finally, Link ripped the man's gag off, tearing his mustache off in the process.

 **RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIP!** " **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!** "

"You all right?"

"T-t-thank you, kid." panted the bomb shop master. "I was planning on shaving anyway!"

"Do you have any more bombs? Unlike those pirates, I am willing to pay for them." Link said. Seeing as how the man had quite obviously learned his lesson, Link decided to be gentle and benevolent as he mostly was.

"N-no. Those bandits cleared my entire shop! I… am feeling generous enough to help you find some, though."

Link usually would never trust this guy, but he was desperate. He NEEDED bombs.

"Back then, those bungling burglars were discussing their password to their ship! Where they took the bombs!"

"Password? What is it?" Link began to listen hard. _"Please don't say he's lying!"_

"The password is… bear with me… 'He got burned to the ground'."

"What?"

"What were you expecting? 'Password'?"

"That's a random password... Thank you. I'll do my best with what you have told me."

Link exited the store and sprinted up the hill to the pirate ship. He was pleading that the bomb shop owner wasn't lying.

* * *

Link ran past Tott (who was too busy dancing to notice him) and jumped onto the parked pirate ship. In the distance, he could hear very off-key singing coming from the Windfall Island Café.

" **Me mother kept a boarding house,  
 _Hullabaloo belay  
Hullabaloo bela belay.  
_And all the boarders were out to make,  
 _Hullabaloo belay…_** "

Link headed to the door that lead below deck, just like he did when he went to see Niko.

 **KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

Link knocked on the door. The plan was very simple. If he heard footsteps, he would run. Once the coast was clear, he would find-

" **Wot 'appened ter da pirate** **o** **o's wooden leg caught fire?** "

Of all things, Link was not expecting to hear that. He expected footsteps and maybe a 'Who's there', but not a random riddle.

 _"Oh, wait! The password!"_ thought Link with an attempted click of his fingers. He took a deep breath. "He got burned to the ground!"

Link cringed when he got the joke, but the voice on the other end seemed pleased.

"Blimey! Ya got i' right! Just who are ya? Eh, don't matter! Just rattle on in!"

Link scratched his head as the door unlocked. Where had he heard that voice before?

Ignoring this thought, Link headed through the door.

* * *

The inside of the pirate ship was no different than when Link first went in. Nudge's door was still cracked open a little, his shower was still running since he had accidentally left it on, there was a mop at the end of the corridor and there was a set of stairs leading down a passageway.

"Aha!" Link headed down the stairs as he did his first time. He remembered someone was usually there, but he hadn't seen them in the bomb shop, so he had no idea who he was.

Suddenly, a hand clamped around his shoulder.

"'Oy!"

" **AAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!** "

Link whipped his pocket sand out and hurled the contents behind him. Link showered the figure behind him in sand.

"Argh! What ya doin'? I play a rum an' coke for a cow and I get a face full o' sand!"

Link remembered who spoke like that.

 **IT WAS N** **IKO**.

"Crud! Sorry, I thought I'd been caught!"

"Puh! Puh! Never mind!" Niko spluttered between spitting out mouthfuls of sand, "I… Link?"

"Yes, that's me. Remember?"

"Oy' it's Link, so it is!" Niko grabbed the boy's hand and shook it wildly. Link felt like his arm was about to come flying off.

"Glad dat yer back! Ta crew said ya were brown bread for real!"

"Brown… bread… rhymes with… dead?" Link guessed.

"Bang on, mate, bang on!"

"Yes! I'm getting it- Wait, WHAT? They thought I was dead?" spluttered Link. Niko nodded very seriously.

"So tha' did. Said ye got caught by a whoppin' Richard and thrown into da ten." continued Niko.

"Who's Richard? Oh! It rhymes with… Pilchard?"

Niko rested his hand against his face. "No, no, no! Richard da Third, bird! Ten furlongs, a mile an' a quarter! Wa'er!"

"Who on earth is 'Richard the Third' and what is a furlong?" groaned Link, exasperated. How was he meant to guess all this slang if Niko only said the first part? His guess was that this whole "rhyming slang" thing was essentially another language and you had to know it to understand it instead of guessing.

"Niko, I was just looking for… some bombs. There is a threat on Outset Island and I need bombs to take care of it. Do you have any?"

"Do I evah! Da pirates all wen' off to da rub-a-dub-dub an' left ol' muggins 'ere ta guard da loot! Guess someone 'as to do it, but still! 's insulting!"

"Rub-a-dub-dub… pub?"

Niko nodded his head.

"Tell ya wot: If ya can complete me new challenge, I'll let ya in on a few of da bombs!"

"Sounds good! Okay, what do I have to do?" Link rubbed his hands together. He was ready for this. Any challenge seemed like a cinch to him at this moment. He had a shot of saving his island!

"Take a butchers over dere!"

Niko pointed over the gap. It seemed to be the same challenge as last time but at the same time, something seemed different.

"First, ye press dis switch like last time to open up dat gate over dere!" explained Niko. Sure enough, on the other side of the room was a gate that covered the formerly open door to the next.

"Dat's not all! Once ya do dat, ye gotta swing across all the ropes like da last time, but dere are no platfawms to land on! Ye must rely on yer chalks! Like dis!"

Like a monkey, Niko pounced onto the ropes and swung across the gap, grabbing several in his arms and grunting madly. He swiftly landed on the other side.

"See dat? Much harder wivout de platfawms to stand- Aw, noddagen!" Niko had turned around and noticed that the boy had vanished like the wind. "Where are ye? Yer not foolin' me! I know yer hidin' somewhere!"

"Where?" Link had somehow passed Niko on the way over and was now standing in the room.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"** screamed Niko, almost falling off the edge in surprise. "Howdidyedodat?"

"I passed you as you were swinging. There must have been a shortcut." replied Link with a smirk.

"T-t-t-there's no more loot to guard! I'm joinin' de others! See ya! Enjoy da bombs!"

With that, Niko stumbled off the edge, sprinted up the ladder and ran down the corridor, muttering in confusion.

Wasting no time, Link turned around and opened the chest behind him. Fifteen orbs wrapped in a blue material lay inside with grey buttons on the tops. Pressing them down would detonate them after a delay.

"All right!" Link scooped them up and shoved them into his bag. As he was about to stuff the last one in, a loud voice boomed from what seemed like right behind him.

" **Hold it right there** **.** "

"Aaaargh!"

Link dropped the bomb onto the floor. A heart stopping moment later, the boy deduced that it hadn't landed on the button so he picked it up and put it in his bag before drawing his weapons.

"Who's there? I almost blew this thing up because of you!"

"Calm down. It's just me. It's Tetra."

The boy looked down. The Pirate's Charm was glowing green and he felt like a bit of a nut. He thought the voice coming from it was from behind him and he nearly caused the boat to go boom because of it.

"Tetra!" Link forced a smile and a happy voice. "You're speaking through this stone again? How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!" Link picked the stone up to listen closer.

"Well, I can't say I like how Niko just gave several of our bombs to you. The great lummox!"

"Well, **I** can't say **I** like how you're acting as if that pearl at Outset is just some kind of treasure!"

"You're being very ungrateful right now, you know that?! I did see you back in the bomb shop! Do you think I was willing to let this lot of buffoons stuff their faces with cod and chips all night? No! What did you think I was doing in there? Waiting for Christmas?"

"I don't know! If you tried contacting me earlier and explained to me what was going on, I could have-"

"I didn't call you because **I thought you were dead!** "

There was silence between the two for a while. Link could hear the sounds of thumping, laughing and cheering from the stone. Tetra finally broke the silence.

"Sorry about this. I'm in the bathroom trying to make sure those guys can't be heard, but this is a rowdy lot!"

Suddenly, deafening singing came from the background.

" **WEEEEEELL, IIIIIIIT'S ALL FOR ME GROG, ME JOLLY, JOLLY GROG..."**

"You... thought I'd died?" Link murmered, his voice breaking, "Niko did tell me that."

"...Have you made any progress towards saving your sister?" Tetra's voice conveyed that she was trying to change the subject a bit.

"Kind of. I've made a lot of new friends." Link reflected back vividly. When he woke up in the King of Red Lions, when he befriended the kindly young assistant to Valoo, Medli, when he broke Prince Komali out of his funk, when he rescued Makar from the jaws of Kalle Demos... "They really trust me a whole lot, because they gave me their island's pearls at the request of my... um... other friend."

Tetra breathed in as if to start talking but she suddenly ground to a halt. "What do you need them for?"

"That... last friend I mentioned said that if I gather three of them, I can take down the beast inside the Forsaken Fortress. If I save my sister and the others from him, it will start off a chain reaction or something that will stop that beast killing us all off."

Tetra gasped a little before the noise from the eatery stopped. Tetra had covered her stone with her hands and left a small gap for her to speak into. "OK… Listen, I'll cut you a deal. I'm gonna lead my crew to Outset first thing tomorrow morning so I can be ready to protect it. However, the crew will likely turn the place upside down looking for the last pearl. If you make it there before us, the pearl's all yours."

"And if you get there first?"

"I'll... get something arranged to sneak it onto you so the crew won't notice. It will probably take a while, though."

Link understood what he had to do. "So, just get there by morning? Got it!" With that, the stone stopped glowing. and Tetra was gone. Link was on his own.

With limited time, Link ran back through the cabins and back into the rain.

* * *

Link hauled himself up onto a ledge near town. In the darkness, he could see Niko running up the stairs and into the café. After a short pause, one of the pirates was heard jumping over the counter and putting on a fake deep voice.

 **BUMP!**

" **Oh! A customer! Welcome to the hot drink shop! We have green tea, red tea, blue tea, white tea, beige tea, cherry tea, cola tea, grog tea and rainbow tea!"**

Niko replied in a very smug voice. "Black coffee, please!"

" **GET** **OUT!** "

Link tried his best not to laugh, but it was all too funny. The pirates had a great sense of humour.

Suddenly, they started up again.

"Oh, Gonzo! Are you the one who fancies himself as an opera singer!"

"Sure am!"

"Great! **EVERYBODY!** The Great Gonzo will now demonstrate how he breaks a glass using only his voice!"

"Right! Ahem. Lalalalalaaaa! Yeah, I'm warmed up! Let's go!"

There was silence from the pirates for a few seconds.

"Senza, could you break that glass there?" asked Gonzo in a very posh way.

"With pleasure!"

 **SMASH!**

Link couldn't help but burst out laughing as he ran all the way back to the King of Red Lions, his boots getting cemented in grass and sand as he ran across the field and beach.

* * *

As he hooted his way under the cove, Link was about to climb aboard the King of Red Lions, when he noticed that something was wrong.

"Sir?" asked Link as he waded his boots in the water to clear off the debris.

The King was motionless. He was just staring at the rock wall. The blue pupils in his glass eyes were missing, leaving only the orange eyeballs. He was like a dad that was thoroughly engrossed in watching EastEnders, only to fall asleep after the opening theme song.

"Sir? Are you OK?" Link waved his hand in front of the boat. Suddenly, his pupils returned and he yelped before shaking his head.

"Wah! Oh! Sorry, Link! Must have dozed off. Forty winks, you see?" said the King, quickly.

"Don't worry. That's understandable. Night time and all that. Speaking of night time, I've got to get to Outset before it ends!" motored the boy as he vaulted into the boat and stomped on the Sail button. They whizzed out of the cave as if a motor had been attached to the back.

"Have you got something to help us get to Jabun?" The boat turned his head as Link conducted the wind southwest. The wind screamed as it sped southwest. It buffeted Link again, but this time it seemed to stop to apologise before whizzing ahead, out of control. Link turned the boat around and followed the wind back towards Outset.

"I managed to snag some bombs from the pirates! Tetra's given me until morning to get there, so…" Link suddenly stopped and raised one of his eyebrows. "Wait, aren't you meant to be able to see all of this stuff?"

The King coughed and shook his head. "Asleep." he said, quickly.

The laughter of the bar slowly faded as they got further and further away.

"Here's a good one! Oil Derricks are over 100 years old! They were named after their creator..."

"Who was the creator! Tell us!"

"John Oil!"

" **HAHAHAHAHA** HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahahahahaha…"

* * *

The trip back to Outset was perilous. Link could hardly see his hand in front of his face, his knees were buckling from the cold, rain was getting in his eyes and he almost drove straight into a small island as he couldn't see it.

Link's eyes were getting heavier and not just because of the rain. Suddenly, he was hit by another nap.

 **CRUMP!**

* * *

Link was hit with not only a dream, but he was also hit with a hand. He flew across the featureless room and skidded to a halt on the floor.

" **Your life is meaningless! You are WORTHLESS!** " growled the owner of the hand as it advanced on him. "Link!" came Tetra's voice from around his neck.

"Link." Her voice slowly grew more masculine.

"Link." Link's vision abruptly cut off. It came back quickly after. Link was lying on the King of Red Lions, whose figurehead was bent around towards him.

"Don't worry. You just fell asleep." said the King. "We have arrived."

Link jolted upright. He could just about make out the shape of Outset before him. It was still the same old shape. It had not been destroyed. BIG sigh of relief.

The King pulled up at a long dock. Link climbed over his figurehead and onto it. As he looked back, he noticed that the King was in deep thought. He looked at where the sun would rise at this time of Summer.

"This is interesting."

"What is it?"

"We were sailing for three hours just now. At this time, the sun should have risen by now. I am truly beginning to think that this night will not end unless all three pearls are gathered!"

"Wait, that means-"

"Yes! That means that those blasted pirates won't be coming here for a while!" roared the King in triumph. "I think that, before we search for Jabun, you should reunite with your family. It's been a long time since you were last here, you've earned it."

Link opened his mouth to protest but then he realised that the King was right. Unless the pirates were being shifty, there was no way they'd ever be arriving any time soon. They'd probably go to bed, wake up and discover it was still night time, go back to sleep again and they'd only get going if they realised they were getting far too much sleep.

Link headed up to the island and began to walk towards his house. He was looking forward to seeing Granny again. She could probably use his company to keep going for a while since her memory problems probably wouldn't make her forget him. She loved him too much for that.

The weather was absolutely abhorrent, just like at Windfall. It was raining sideways, cats and dogs. The only time he'd seen Outset like this was when he found a really cool stick and accidentally left it on the other side of the island so he had to sneak out the window at midnight to get it. Granny had asked why he was drenched the next morning and Link had to say he fell out of bed and landed in the bath that Granny had forgot to unplug. It gave a kind of... eerie feel to the place, as if he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Link! Is that you? LINK!" came an old voice to his left. Link turned his head and Orca had was closing his door and sprinting down the grass, spear in hand, only wearing his shorts.

"Orca! What are you doing?" asked Link with a smile. He hadn't seen his trainer in days!

"Link… Sorry! This will surprise you..." said Orca, gravely.

The boy's face fell. "What is it?"

Orca leaned down and sighed deeply.

"It's your house…" he started. "There's been a fire."


	16. A Rod With A Lantern

"Granny!" Link burst into his house as Orca followed him. The fire was only minor. There were a few black burn spots on the walls and the floor had a large burned circle, like a reverse spotlight. "Granny!"

Orca came in after him.

"Don't worry. Your grandmother is just fine. We escorted her out the house while others put the fire out." he panted, breathless.

"Where is she?"

"Dnyaaaaarrrggghhhh… Pythhhhhh… Dnyaaaaarrrggghhh… Phythhhhhhh..."

No, reader, you haven't opened the Cornish edition of this story by accident, this was the sound of Granny snoring.

The two ran around the corner of the house and there she was. Granny was fast asleep in bed, covered by a blanket. The fire wasn't lit, so it was freezing in the house.

"Link..." Link jumped upon hearing his name. Granny was talking in her sleep.

"Granny! Are you OK? What's wrong?"

"Aryll… Don't leave… Don't leave your poor old Granny..."

Link found himself quickly tearing up as Orca sensed this and squeezed his shoulder.

"Granny! I'm back! I've come to see you! What's wrong?" Link ran over to her. She was snoring weakly.

Orca simply put his spear against the wall. "After we put the fire out, we found the remains of a bunch of candles on the floor. Do you remember having cake on your birthday?"

Link frowned. Did he? Where did those candles come from?

Then it hit.

 **HIS PRESENT.**

Granny was old and losing her sense, so on his birthday she had put the cake's candles in the parcel containing his clothes. She had dropped it in surprise and Link got so caught up that he left the house without putting them out and picking them up.

A feeling of immense guilt shot through him like a bolt of electricity. Not only did he forget his birthday, but he also forgot about the candles the old lady had dropped to the floor. If he had reminded her, maybe this could have all been avoided... Maybe he was becoming forgetful too.

"Link, this is not your fault." assured Orca. He had obviously seen Link's guilty face.

"Can I do anything to help?" asked the boy, more desperation injecting into his voice.

Orca's voice dropped down and he began speaking as if he were choking on his words. "Y-yes… There is… Go and see… My brother… He is much… brainier than me and he'll... know what to do."

"Your brother! Right! Sturgeon!" Before he could be stopped by anything, Link had raced out of the house and across the island.

Remember Sturgeon? The one with the massive head who kept having his pottery knocked over? Yeah. He had a big head for a reason and it wasn't just arrogance. Link climbed up Sturgeon's ladder on the side of Orca's house and hammered on the door.

"Yes? Who's there? What's going on?" came a gruff voice inside. The door flew open. Sturgeon was in a navy blue night gown and slippers, a giant towel wrapped around his head. The inside of his house was filling with steam as if he just got out the shower.

"Link? Is that you?"

"Sorry, sir. Orca told me to come and see you."

Sturgeon groaned. "What could that nutter possibly want you to come and see me for?"

"My grandmother is ill."

" **YOUR GRANDMOTHER IS ILL?** Quick! Come in!"

Sturgeon ran behind the boy and steered him inside by his shoulders before shutting the door behind him. In a second, he found him self sitting cross legged on a cushion in front of a low table. Sturgeon sat in front of him, hurriedly pouring two cups of herbal tea.

 **CRASH!**

A bolt of lightning struck in the distance. Even this was enough to make the supports of Sturgeon's shelves flop down. The plates, mugs and cutlery on top crashed to the floor.

 **SMASH!**

"Wait, now a bolt of lightning from several miles away can knock down your shelves?" said Link, incredulously. Sturgeon did not even react to the crashing crockery.

"Tell me more, boy!"

Link blew on his cup before he told Sturgeon. How her mind had shut down again, how there was a fire and how he needed to help her.

Rain tapped at the window as Sturgeon thought for a while before he simply hung his head and sighed sympathetically.

"Well, lad, the brain can be a funny thing. Sometimes, it... stops working right when you've been through a particularly horrible event."

Link's face began to fall.

" **HOWEVER!** "

Link jumped, almost spilling hot tea down himself.

"A good fairy spell can cure this phenomenon! The Forest of Fairies may rarely..."

Before he could say another word, Link's empty mug of tea was spinning to a stop on the table and the door was slamming behind him. Out the window, Sturgeon could already see that Link was springing up the path that led to the suspension bridge. The man creaked the window open and called after him.

"Link! Stop! The bridge is out! It's too dangerous!"

But it was too late. The wind drowned him out as Link climbed over the stile and continued up the path.

* * *

The wind and rain got more and more unbearable as the boy got higher and higher up. As he got higher, the wind started to sound like giggling and talking.

"Hehehehehe… Dalan! Dalan! Dalan!"

The noises got closer and closer to Link. That wasn't the wind!

He turned around, sword out. To his shock, several little goblins were hopping towards him. No bigger than small children, they wielded hot pitchforks which hissed in the rain.

"No, no, no, Not on my island! Not monsters on my island!" Link didn't stop to fight. He just kept running up the hill. He almost ran right onto where the bridge used to be and fell into the sea before he realised that the giant bird had chopped it down last time.

How did he get back across the bridge after Aryll had been kidnapped? His mind was clear with shock at the time, so he couldn't quite remember. He had Gonzo and Tetra with him, he knew that, but what were they saying?

'Gonzo! You're shaking the rope!'

'Sorry, Miss Tetra!'

'Don't do that! Walking the rope is serious business! We'll fall-'

Link stopped thinking about that immediately. That's it! He had shuffled along the rope to get back! One problem: He needed the top rope to hold onto. The top rope was too high up for him to reach.

Link scratched his head as the mob of creatures advanced on him, chattering away and jabbing their pitchforks in preparation. A large, wooden arch stood before where the bridge used to be. It was used to hold the top ropes for the suspension bridge.

The boy climbed onto the wooden arch that held up the top rope, bent down and grabbed the rope and then jumped, hoping that it would lower enough for him to touch the bottom rope.

 **Creeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaak...**

It didn't.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Link let out a few panicked noises as he dangled from the rope, his boots not even scuffing the bottom rope. The monsters stopped at the edge and giggled as if they were watching the fruits of a prank they just pulled, not even trying to follow. The rain loosened his grip more and more until eventually his hands peeled off of the rope and he plunged towards the sea below.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

The boy was in the air for about four seconds before he finally hit the water, which is a pretty long time to be falling for. Defeated, he dragged himself ashore and lay in a heap on the floor.

"Are you OK down there?"

Link's eyes flew open. The King's figurehead was peering down at him.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Can't say the same about my Granny, though."

The King's eyes widened.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Well… Firstly there was a fire in my house and secondly, she is so lonely that it made her sick. No, I'm serious. I didn't even know that was possible."

The King peeked his head up. "In that case, we need to save your sister. And fast. Maybe that will cure her loneliness."

"Not a bad idea. Let's find Jabun!"

The boy and his boat were using the 'Cruise' function to slowly head around to the back of Outset. That was supposedly where Jabun made his home.

"There! Jabun lives in that cave over there!" called the King as he aimed his figurehead over to a small opening at the back of the left island. The opening was covered by a large stone tablet statue of a woman in a toga.

"What am I meant to do with these bombs?" asked Link.

As if to answer his question, a hatch in the middle of the deck opened and a cannon rose out very quickly.

"What the- How did you hide that thing in there?"

"No time for questions. Just move the tiller while the cannon's out and press the button on top of the tiller to fire it. This will use up your bombs, so beware!"

Link moved the tiller left and right to test it out. The cannon moved respectively.

 **Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr… Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr…**

With a grin of excitement, Link aimed the cannon straight at the stone tablet blocking the cave entrance when suddenly something swept the boat to the left.

 **WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!** " **AAAAAAARRRGH!** "

Link stumbled and grabbed the cannon for support. The boat had been whipped forwards by an underwater force. Suddenly, a whole ring of water started swirling in front of the statue.

"It's a trap!" shouted the King over the din.

Without saying a word, Link turned the tiller to aim the cannon and pressed the button on top.

 **BOOM!**

A bomb flew out of the nozzle at the end and smashed into the stone tablet.

 **BOOOOOOM!**

As the smoke cleared, Link could see that a small chunk of stone had come free.

Water was wildly splashing over the side of the boat, filling the boy's boots with water. Despite the frigid temperatures, sweat was beading at his brow. Or is that just the rain? I can't tell.

"Shoot the rest of it, Link!" shouted the King. The whirlpool's grasp was too strong to escape. "You only grazed it!"

The boy gripped the tiller once more, but an almighty splash almost capsized the king and him. He cried out and leaned to the right to counter balance. "Sir! We're going in! We're going in!"

"No, we're not!" the King choked adamantly as a wave splashed into his mouth, "Keep firing and I shall keep us above the surface!"

Fighting to keep his eyes on the statue, Link pressed the button again.

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

Shards of rock flew all over the place and into the water. When the smoke finally cleared, the tablet was gone, the whirlpool had dissipated and the way in was clear.

"Link… are you ready for this?" asked the King. Link simply nodded his head and cruised into the cave.

* * *

The two came to a stop in a beautiful cavern. Crystals adorned the ceiling, giant barnacle carvings hung from the walls, the water was a beautiful shade of blue and green. It was like a scuba diving light was on underneath. Link had been living in front of all this his whole life?

The light got fiercer and fiercer. Was this a pirate looking for the pearl?

Suddenly, a massive splash erupted through the cavern. Water flew everywhere. Link recoiled as he almost fell off the boat because of the wash produced by the blast.

When he opened his eyes again, a giant, dark green fish was floating in the water in front of him. He had a giant rod on his head that held a lantern, explaining the light. He was so large, his pupils were bigger than Link. His eyes also had three layers. Red, then yellow and finally, black. He had a large, horizontal scar across his face.

This couldn't be one of the pirates. Well, unless Gonzo had really let himself go.

The fish started speaking softly. Even though it was clearly his talking voice, Link had to slam his hands over his ears.

Jabun spoke a different language. It had the same kind of accent as Hylian. It also had the same style of words and… Darn. I can't translate it, can I?

Link listened to the damp deity as he spoke. It was quite a short sentence, but the King answered immediately.

"Well met indeed, Jabun. I am pleased that you're safe. It seems that you have a scar on your head from the attack, but you're safe here."

Link eyed the back of the boat suspiciously. He hadn't noticed back at Dragon Roost, but the king knew Hylian? Why? That language was hardly spoken or even understood by anyone in the world.

Jabun started talking again. This time, he looked rather annoyed as his eyes wondered to focus on his scar. His voice rose a bit in annoyance.

"Yes, it may be a bit annoying, but it will fade. You're safe here." replied the King.

The fish spoke again. A hint of graveness tinged his voice.

"Yes, it appears that Ganon has risen again. There is no mistaking it."

The fish kept talking to the boat, but Link was staring at the inside of Jabun's mouth. It was easily big enough to consume an entire life raft, and the sides were covered in limpets. He was a little scared that the god would accidentally dip his bottom lip into the water and draw them both in.

...

He was begging that he didn't need to venture in there to get the last pearl.

Link was yanked back to reality when he heard the King addressing him indirectly.

"The one I have bought with me has no connection to the legendary one, yet I see great courage in him. He will surely be our salvation."

Jabun turned one of his massive eyes to Link, sending shivers up his spine. He felt like an enemy soldier in the scope of a crossbow. Was Jabun angry at him?

Jabun said one foreign word, sounding incredulous. He then said a longer sentence in a very confrontational way. Even the King looked a little scared.

"I do. It's the only way. Please trust me, your majesty."

Jabun turned a gargantuan eye on Link, then at the boat. He alternated a few times before he closed his eyes and pointed down a bit. Jabun, saying nothing, began shaking the rod on his head causing something inside to rattle like an ice cube in a glass. Finally, the item came free and landed with a thump on the deck of the King of Red Lions. It was a round ball, glowing blue with an emblem that reminded Link of the pattern on Medli's dress.

It was Nayru's Pearl!

"Thank you, Jabun." said the King of Red Lions, bowing his figurehead. Link copied. Jabun took a deep breath and slammed down back underwater, sending the companions splashing out of the door and into the rain again…

...Where's the rain gone?

Wait, there's no more rain?

YES! The night that never ends is finally over! For the last few days, the sun has never been rising and it's been raining all the time! My Animal Care College has been a nightmare! I guess I should have just made the endless night end randomly to solve my problem, but that wouldn't have made for a good story, would it?

Anyway, Link looked up at the clear night sky. It had been so long since he had seen the dancing stars and the shining moon that he had forgotten that they existed.

"What do we do now, sir? We have all three pearls."

The king continued looking away. When he turned to the boy, he was holding a rolled up piece of purple paper in his mouth. "This chart contains the locations of the three triangle islands. You must go to each and place the corresponding pearl into the hands of the statues."

Link unwrapped the chart and inspected it. It showed every single island including Outset, but three were highlighted. These three islands formed a right-facing triangle. "What will that do?

"Our first destination is the southern one on the map, due northeast. You will have to take out Nayru's Pearl and place it into the hands of the statue that resides there." explained the boat. "Once all three are in place, rescuing your sister shall become possible.

Link conducted the wind to move northeast. This time, the wind seemed very relieved to be free of its gale. It gently breezed past them.

"Let's go!" With that, Link stomped on the sailing button and the boat shot off into the distance.

* * *

Sailing felt so much nicer when he wasn't being pelted with wind and rain. Beforehand, sailing had been like skiing in a snowstorm. It felt like driving an open-topped car through a storm of mosquitoes. It felt so nice, that the two got to Southern Triangle Island in what seemed like seconds, though the sun had started to show itself.

Link disembarked the boat and swam to the rocky shore. With a breath of anticipation, he took out the glowing energy that was Nayru's Pearl as it formed back into a solid.

A limestone statue, just about as tall as him, sat in the center of the triangle. It was swarmed by overgrown grass and undergrowth.

"Well?" the King said, "All you have to do is put the pearl into the statue's hands."

Link took a breath and dropped the blue orb into the petrified appendages of the statue.

…

…

…

Nothing happened.

The King called over again. "Do not be fooled, my boy. It may not do anything now, but you still have two more to lay down."

That was a fair point.

The boy got back in the boat and continued on to the next island, Eastern Triangle Island.

* * *

After another few minutes of sailing, Link found Eastern Triangle Island surrounded by a series of small and weak whirlpools that the boat managed to cut through with relative ease. He jumped off again, landing on the grassy shore. "Which pearl here, sir?"

"This island requires the pearl you received from Forest Haven, as evidenced by the grass-coated shore."

"Interesting... so, Nayru? The green one?" Link opened his pouch once again and a green wisp of energy climbed out, forming Nayru's pearl. Link saw the shape of a statue at the highest point of the low island and was about to give it to her, but he noticed that, like Sue-Belle, she was carrying a pot above her head. "Problem, sir. This one seems to have her hands full."

"But is the jar full?" the King knowingly asked. His eyes glinted. Link frowned.

"There's gonna be something awful in there, isn't there? A spider? Bugs?" Still, he stood up as tall as he would go and rolled the pearl inside. It landed with a splash in a small pool of water, but then a small, green light started to shine through the top. "Why is this one glowing, but the other didn't? Did I mess up back there?"

"Chances are it was just having forty winks!" the King grinned and the sun bounced off his eyes again.

"...You're enjoying this."

* * *

As the boat approached the final island, Link noticed something in the distance. A tall pillar of spinning wind was whirling around the surrounding area.

"Sir… What's that up there?" asked Link. The King looked up at the spinning air. A red blob at the top caught his eye.

"I recommend we give that fellow a wide berth. We have no way of dealing with him just yet."

Link almost groaned. The King had been doing a good job of not being vague and now it was starting back up again.

"When he sees you on that island, he will start slowly approaching. I recommend that you place Din's Pearl in as fast as possible, then hurry back so we can flee." advised the King.

"Got it." replied Link, beating down his annoyance.

And so, Link sprinted across the island's orange beach, up the ledge and to the statue. This one appeared to be wearing fake, melting wings. He whipped out Din's Pearl and placed it in the arms of the statue.

The pearl began to shine. It shone brighter and brighter and brighter.

"What is happening?" Link turned back to the King for an answer, but he just moved his head in a shrugging motion.

The pearl continued pulsing brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the statue started to crack all over. Pillars of light began shining from out of the cracks like a window being opened in the morning.

"Wah!" yelped Link as he ran away and hid behind a bush.

…

…

…

Nothing happened.

Confused, Link poked his head out from over the bush and crept closer to the statue.

"I thought there was going to be a big-"

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

The statue was blown to pieces, sending Link flying into the air like a cannonball.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

In a second, he had disappeared into the sky.

After the dust settled, a beautiful woman who seemed to be made of red glass from head to toe appeared in the statue's place.

The Goddess of Power, Din.

She proudly thrust her pearl skyward, its emblem pointing away from her. The pearl caught fire before it shot a beam of red light to the south.

The beam zoomed over to Southern Triangle Island and struck the statue there, breaking the stone apart and revealing the next Goddess.

The Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru.

Nayru held up her pearl in the same way. A dome of water surrounded the pearl as it, this time, fired a beam of blue light northeast.

This beam of light struck the final statue on Eastern Triangle Island, breaking the final statue and revealing the final Goddess.

The Goddess of Courage, Farore.

Just like the others, she shot a beam of light out of her pearl. This time, it was light green. All the while, her pearl glowed with solar energy.

The beam finally returned to Din. With the three beams connecting, they formed a perfect triangle. In the middle of this triangle, something made the water bubble and froth. It kept frothing and rumbling wildly before a thin but tall shape rose out of the water and into the air. Water poured from its openings as it finally stopped emerging. It was a large, white tower.

Link screamed through the air like a rocket as the tower rose into his way. It was like the Forsaken Fortress all over again.

 **SMACK!**

The boy crashed into the wall, sliding down like a sponge hitting a window. Eventually, he peeled off of the wall, fell upside down and landed with an almighty splash in the ocean. After five seconds, he broke the surface.

…

He must be made of rubber. It's the only explanation.

Moving on, Link panicked at how he was in an all new quadrant of the sea with no islands in sight. Only the entrance to the tall tower, but that was shrouded in dark. Who knew if there was anything to climb up in there?

"Sir! Sir! I can't swim for that long! Where are you?" he spluttered as he spat out lungfuls of water.

"I'm right here!"

Not even questioning how he got there so fast, Link struggled to his boat and climbed aboard, sprawling on the deck.

The King looked at the tower. "The Tower of the Gods." he recited. "This is the place where supposed heroes work to earn their title."

Link looked up at the massive tower. Climbing that thing would take forever, but he had to do it to save his sister.

The King turned to face Link.

"Link… Are you ready for the penultimate step?"

Link nodded bravely before stomping his sail on and speeding into the tower.

His sister was nearly free.

 _"Just hold on for a bit longer, sis!"_


	17. A Bite In Shining Armour

The boat kept cruising through the entrance tunnel. The place was much wider than it looked. Further and further and further until finally, they arrived at the first room.

This level was entirely covered in water. Torches were dancing on the wet walls, platforms rose into the air and lead to alters inhabited by statues, the water never seemed to end but in the middle of the room sat a large, gold plate, painstakingly carved into an angry face. Water was pouring from its mouth.

"Link, listen closely. This is the only piece of information I am allowed to give you, so I suggest you pay attention." the King said. Link's ears perked up.

"'A True Hero can pull himself up, even through the toughest torrent.' That is the first passage."

Link looked ahead at the gold face releasing a waterfall.

"Do you understand that?" asked the King.

Link continued eyeing the statue. "I think so."

The King turned his head away from the boy before returning. He had something in his mouth again.

"This is a book for this tower. Follow it exactly and I am sure you'll succeed!"

Link took the book and skimmed through it. It seemed pretty old. Some pages were uneven and the writing was worn, but it was perfectly understandable and that was all that mattered.

Link put the book in his bag and sat on the side of the boat. Like a scuba diver, he plugged his nose, saluted and fell backwards into the water. As he was under, he forced his eyes open and looked down. The water kept going on and on and on. There was no bottom to the tower. It was pure darkness. If the water were to just... all drain... what would be at the bottom of it all? The seabed? More water? Nothing?

The boy surfaced and swam under the downpour of water. It immediately started forcing him back underwater. He coughed and gasped as he reached his hands across the giant gold head. There surely must have been a little opening to climb into. Had he got it wrong?

No. He was right. His hands reached over a small ledge. With all his might, he yanked himself up, sprawling on the floor in front of him.

" **YOU HAVE DONE IT! WELL DONE! YOU SHALL SURELY PASS THE TEST!** " the King's voice reached him on the other side of the roaring waterfall and, not wanting to be seen as slacking, the boy pulled himself up.

Link looked behind him. A thin, golden tunnel snaked on and on and on, further than the eye could see. Suddenly, the statue stopped spewing water, since it had no need to do so any longer.

"It seems that I will be unable to come with you any further. Will you be all right on your own?" asked the King. Link nodded his head.

"Yeah, I've gone twelve years without a boat! I can last… however long this takes!"

"But did you ever leave your island?"

"Why, I… Oh..." Link scratched his head sheepishly. The King burst into uproarious laughter.

"Kidding! I know you'll be just fine!"

Link sighed in exasperation. He turned, took his book out and marched into the depths of the tunnel.

* * *

" _If you have passed this trial, turn to page 86"_ read the book. Link flicked through the pages until he found page 86. "The best defence is a good offence..." recited Link as he reached the end of a tunnel while reading his book. Now he was in a circular room. A large dais stood in the centre of the room, holding a statue depicting a woman wearing a toga and holding a rose. "The best defence is a good offence. The best defence is a good offence."

Link looked up from his book. The room was surrounded by statues all in an 180° angle of the boy. One of them was a man flexing his biceps, one was a little baby with angel wings, another was a horse rearing into the air with his mouth open, one was of a man holding out a skull, one was a hooded figure whose entire face was wrapped in a cloak. A big, black hole was where his head should be, making it look like his face was shrouded by darkness. The most memorable one was a serene looking woman in a toga. Massive angel wings flapped from her back and her hands were pressed on her heart but this definitely wasn't a Rito.

Link inspected the pedestal where the first statue was. There were four markings going from left to right. These markings indicated certain directions.

" _The Wind Waker!"_ thought Link as he took out the baton. He hadn't learned a new song since the Song of Passing, which…

Wow, that actually wasn't that long ago. The endless night must have been so unbearable that it made everything slow down.

Link inspected the markings. There was a light problem with this.

All the songs Link had heard so far only had three notes. This one had four. He couldn't fit all the notes in. If he tried, the fourth note would just be the beginning of the looping three notes. Here's an example:

Up, left, right, (Loop), down, up, left, (loop)

Link scratched his head in frustration. Suddenly, a loud voice from his Pirate's Charm nearly made him drop the baton.

" **Hey!** "

The stone started to glow red.

"Sir? Is that you?" asked Link as he held the stone aloft. "I thought you couldn't tell me anything else."

"Yes, but... I should have told you this beforehand. The stone before you holds four notes that you will need to conduct on your Wind Waker. To do this, you will need to move your free hand to the left to increase the conducting speed to 4/4 time. This should give you an extra note to work with."

Link nodded his head. "Thank you!"

"If you ever come across a song that has six notes, move your hand to the right." said the King. The stone abruptly stopped glowing.

Link composed himself, took out his Wind Waker and moved his free hand to the left.

 **One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four!**

Not only were the beats faster this time, but there were more notes! Link studied the directions. One left arrow, a dot, a right arrow and another dot.

Link moved his hand to the left, the middle, the right and then back to the middle. The song produced sounded rather futuristic and mystic. Whatever effect it had made the lights dim.

"What's happening?" asked Link to no one in particular. The lights kept dimming until they were barely on.

Silence filled the room. Nothing was happening. Everything was silent. Deafeningly silent. This silence made Link look around the room at the statues. What were they here for? What was their purpose? A low humming noise filled the room.

As Link's heart dropped, several of the statues started to move.

The woman with the rose moved her arm and aimed it straight at Link. The rose started shining with a red light. A red laser aimer shot out and began moving around Link.

 **Doodoodoodoodoodoodoodoodoodoodoodoodoo…**

With several rapid-fire beeping noises, the aimer moved around Link before finally focusing on him.

The statue of the man flexing his biceps looked straight at Link. He thrust both of his fists forwards at him and little red laser aimers shot out of the ends. They too locked onto Link. The statue of the baby pointed his head straight at Link. A red dot appeared on his forehead and yet another laser was locked onto the boy. The statue of the horse started slowly spinning its front legs in circles and it opened its mouth even further, releasing a demonic neigh. Another laser shot out of its mouth and locked on. The man with the skull extended his hand straight outwards towards him. Cackling wildly, the skull opened its mouth. Another laser locked on. The hooded figure didn't move. Instead, two red dots in its blacker-than-black hood flared to life and two laser pointers shot out and locked on. Finally, the once serene statue of an angel suddenly bared sharp claws and fangs as her eyes widened insanely. A single laser shot out of her mouth and locked on.

"I'm doomed!" whimpered Link as beeps blared around the room. Nine laser aimers were all locked onto him. Not only would they likely destroy him, but it would probably destroy the tower as well.

The laser aimers abruptly flashed blue before they shot giant offence lasers at their target.

The proverb shot to Link's head as did the lasers.

 _"The best defence is a good offence!"_

Instinctively, he yanked his shield off his back and winced as the lasers drew closer and closer.

 **CLANG!**

All nine lasers hit Link's shield. Instead of blowing it up like they should have done, they all bounced off. The beams of Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation cut through the air towards their owners.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

Chunks of stone flew everywhere. A wing crashed to the floor, the horse's head flew into the wall behind Link, the glaring face of the angel landed with a crash on the floor and a flexing arm flew through the air and into the ceiling.

Link peered out from behind his shield. To his surprise, he was alive and unharmed. He wasn't even burned black like in a cartoon. Shards of rock lay everywhere. In a state of shock, he looked at his shield. Not a scratch.

"Is this thing made of graphene or something?" he mused as he put it back.

The lights flickered back on and a push-up door at the other end of the room started glowing. A click from the other side rang through the room. The way through was unlocked.

Link opened his book again. Where did he need to turn to next?

" _If you have passed this trail, turn to page 15"_

Link did so as he walked through the door.

* * *

"A brave man takes a leap of faith, knowing not to rely on Hylian for the ans- **MMMMMPH!** "

He let out a strangled scream as he stepped clean off an edge. He threw his book up onto the platform and grabbed onto the side. Gasping madly, Link pulled himself back onto the platform. He lay there for a few moments before standing up and peering into the dark depths.

In the darkness, Link could clearly make out two holes in the wall. One on the left and one on the right.

"Well, I know how to get down there!" announced Link as he reached into his bag and pulled out… the useless skeleton of the Deku Leaf. Had he run out of Magic?

"O...K..." hummed Link as he rummaged around in his pocket. Maybe restoring magic was the purpose of that blue potion he had received earlier. Link located the bottle and drank a bit of it. It tasted a little sweet. A little like bubble gum. Already, he could feel some magic returning.

"Great! I am back in-" The boy took the… skeleton of the leaf out again. What was going on?

Link's charm started glowing red and vibrating again.

"Link… That room has a special kind of aura in it that renders the Deku Leaf powerless as long as you are in it."

"What? Why?"

"You need to prove to the gods that you are willing to take risks in this room. The first tested your dedication, the next tested your trust and this one tests your intelligence."

Link looked at the gaping hole below him.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"If you can use the phrase in the book to find the correct side to land on, your landing will not hurt a bit."

With that, the stone stopped glowing again. Link had this weird feeling. He felt like he needed more information, but at the same time he thought he knew exactly what to do.

He looked over the edge into oblivion.

Finally, he held his breath and jumped off.

Link did not scream as he plummeted through the air. Instead, he had all the wind thrown out of him. It was like a punch to the stomach. It took a few seconds before he remembered to breathe again.

" _A brave man takes a leap of faith, knowing not to rely on Hylian for the answer."_ thought Link as he hurtled towards the two holes. He had to make a decision fast.

Suddenly, he remembered something. His Granny used to tell him about how the Hylian word for 'Left' was 'Doovoo'. The word resembled 'Voodoo', so people were punished for being left-handed on the grounds of being witches or warlocks. Link always thought that he had dodged a **MASSIVE** bolt as he was left-handed and born after this was made illegal.

Knowing what do do, Link steered himself towards the left hole. As he got closer and closer to it, an ethereal surface slowly began forming underneath him. When it became solid, Link began falling slower and slower by the second until it felt like he was no longer falling. It was as if someone had turned down the gravity switch. He gently landed on the glowing platform. Looking over to the other side, Link could see that the right passage just lead to a wall.

Satisfied with his victory, he flipped his book back open and kept reading.

" _If you are successful, turn to page 70"_

Link flipped through the pages to page 70 as he walked into the next room.

* * *

 _"Fall the mighty Darknut._ _"_

"What?" Link whispered to himself upon completing the sentence. "What on earth is a Darknut? Granny would put nuts in her cooking, but what were the dark ones called? And what do they have anything to do with-"

 **KNOCK.**

The boy collided with a bulky shape and jumped back in alarm as the rattling of metal plates shook through the air. It was the cream coloured armour of a massive statue.

A massive statue that angrily turned to tower over him with a sword that was about as big as it, and twice as big as Link. This wasn't a statue.

It was a knight. A knight in shining armour, and not the good kind, either. It was a Darknut.

" **OAAAAAARGH!** "

By this point, Link's reactions let him draw his weapons seamlessly so he could block the attack, but the Darknut bought his massive blade down with such force, it sent him skidding back and left his arm buzzing and numb. Link was impressed that his Shield even stayed in one pieces. He was expecting it to just shatter under the force of one hit. The guard wasn't going to wait for him to recover. It pounded after him again with steps that shook the room like a bowl of jelly in an earthquake. Even the size of the beast didn't hinder its movement.

Link began to run in rings and the two began to circle each other at speed. Two red dots glowered from within the pit that was its helmet. They narrowed and it charged. Link tried to reciprocate with the same action, but his sword harmlessly bounced off the armour. In return, the Darknut turned his sword and promptly blasted Link across the room with it.

 **BOOF!**

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

The hit sent Link flying. He landed painfully and rolled like a hay bale down a hill, past a pillar and into the wall with a crash. As he painfully tried to stand, the knight marched towards him, gently reaching his greatsword out, which it could wield with ease using just one hand.

" **Had it been this angle...** " It turned the blade as if it were a key in a lock. "... **you would have been sliced in two.** "

Link could hear the warrior's breathing rattling in his helmet as he dragged himself to his feet and got his sword ready again. His mind was all a blur of the pain he'd registered from the hit and impact with the wall. His sight slightly blurred.

" **HOOYAH!** " Uttering an unflinching war cry, the guard threw Link behind itself. He tumbled across the floor once again, this time ending up opposite one of the pillars of the room. The guard roared again and, as if he were a lumberjack, he ran his sword straight through the pillar. He didn't even bother to say 'Timber!' or, in this case, 'Marble!'. He just left it tumbling towards the boy, who was to sore to move out the way. He curled into a ball instead as the pillar cast a shadow over him...

 **CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!**

Surprisingly, though...

Link was not dead.

The pillar was not even on the ground. It would have been, but... something was stopping it. A small, metal sculpture that shone blue with electrical veins had taken the force of the falling pillar.

"What the-?" Link breathed.

" **Who dares-?** " the Darknut growled, changing its focus to the statue.

Suddenly, the statue began heating up red hot and in one loud hiss, it incinerated the pillar. Link quickly pulled himself up, thought pain shot through his left leg as he did so.

As he looked behind him, he saw something hanging off the wall at the very back, kind of a long way in the air. A bent piece of wood joined at both ends by a taut string was hanging from a twisted hook. Next to it was a cylindrical, leather tube filled with thin, straight sticks with sharp points. A bow and arrows.

Granny had told Link of how his father was a warrior and practiced with this weapon often. She also said that Link's aiming skills appeared to be inherited from his father.

The boy turned back to the Darknut to find the statue was taking it on itself. When I say that, it was basically just remaining stationary as the Darknut wildly grunted and slashed at it. Every time, its blasting swings were deflected like tennis balls from a racket and the statue didn't even get scratched.

Link took advantage of the distraction this statue was providing and ran to the bow. He attempted to run partway up the wall and make a leap for it, but his left leg, which was injured from him rolling across the floor, just gave out in pain. Once again, he fell to the floor, letting his shield take most of the impact. Still, it smarted quite a lot.

 **HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...**

The statue's veins pulsed red and its eyes shone pink. As if they were being moved by the invisible man himself, the bow and arrow floated from their perch and gently came to rest on Link's chest.

" **GRRRRRAAAAH!** " The Darknut let out another roar of rage and belted at Link to dispatch him before he could use the bow, but the boy jumped up, nocked an arrow just as he'd seen from a painting of his father and let the taut wire go.

 **SHPUT! Whooosh! CLANNNNNG!**

One arrow struck a horn on the black knight's helmet. The speed of the arrow sheared the whole headpiece clean off.

...There was no human underneath all that armour, but there wasn't nothing either. The head that stuck out of the remaining armour looked like a jackal or, if we wanted more description, a humanoid Doberman Pinscher but with a more felid snout and nose. It wasn't a knight.

It was a bite in shining armour.

The guard's enormous flamberge was hoisted into the air once again, its feet booming across the floor and even cracking the bricks beneath it and its blade flew down once more.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

...

When the dust settled, the monster's prey was nowhere to be seen. It knew it hadn't killed him, it would have heard and felt it. " **Where'd 'e go?** " The guard looked around, confused and scratching its bare head.

Suddenly, it heard a loud snapping sound and its remaining armour flew up like an unbuckled life jacket, barring it from seeing anything below its neck.

" **AAAAAAAARGH! I CAN'T SEE!** "

Link stood behind it, running back towards the mysterious statue that had saved his life. He had found an elastic seam on the beast's armour. Cutting it had unraveled the armour and now the Darknut was stumbling around in a blind panic. Taking the bow into his hands, he climbed atop the statue's flat head, aimed and as soon as his target was in range, he fired again.

" **UGH-!** "

The guard was hit directly between its eyes. All it let out was one shocked, pained grunt which cut off pretty quickly before it wobbled and landed. There was a deafening **THUD!** as its body hit the ground. Link wobbled as the earth shook a little and the guard vapourised into dust.

Link got down from the statue and crouched down in front of it, resting his hand on its head.

"Hello, little fella," said Link. "Where did you just come from?"

The statue was made entirely of black steel. It had bright blue lights that snaked around it. Its face was permanently carved into a shocked expression. It was a little shorter than him and had large ears on its head.

The statue's lines lit up brighter.

" ** _I came from your song that you conducted. Back in the second room, your new melody gave me life_**." came a female voice from the statue. Its lights flashed in time with its words.

"Fascinating." mused Link. He looked into the eyes of the statue. Even though its voice was slightly monotone, its eyes were full of life.

" ** _Voice key for recognition recommended._** " said the statue. Its ears went up slightly as if listening.

"...Sorry?" Link said, confused.

" ** _Voice key set as 'Sorry'. Please say 'Sorry' to gather my attention. Please say 'Voice key change' to change this at any time._** "

Ah! 'Voice Key' was what you would say to call the statue!

"Oh, um… Voice key change!" stuttered Link.

" ** _Am listening._** "

Link began thinking… What could he refer to this statue with?

Aha!

"Cheshire!" said Link. I have no idea where that came from. Neither did he, really.

" ** _Voice key set as 'Cheshire'. Please say 'Cheshire' to gather my attention. Please say 'Voice key change' to change this at any time._** "

"Perfect! Cheshire, come over here!" called Link. The statue began to hop along after him as he ran to a high ledge. A door was at the top of this ledge but he had no way of getting up. He jumped and tried to climb the wall but he was too short.

" ** _Sir._** "

Link jumped. He was not used to being called 'Sir'. That was usually his job.

" ** _I recommend that you climb on top of my head so you can reach the door._** "

"You know, that's not a bad idea!" said Link with a smile. He clambered on top of the statue's head and reached for the ledge as it started bouncing up and down to give him extra height. Finally, Link grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up.

 **Clonk, clonk clonk!**

Cheshire continued hopping up and down, obviously trying to get up itself.

"Need some help?" asked Link over the ledge. He took out his grappling hook and lowered it down backwards. Even though it didn't have arms, Link knew it would work somehow.

" ** _Affirmative._** "

The statue opened its mouth and clamped onto the rope of the grappling hook with its teeth. Link heaved and pulled the statue up the ledge.

Link opened his book again.

" _When you complete the trial, turn to page 135."_

His statue came over to look as the boy flipped through the book to nearly the last page.

" _A trusty sidekick will stay put on a button. An equally trusty hero will return the favour."_

Link furrowed his brow in confusion before the door ahead automatically opened.

* * *

This room was wide and rectangular. He was, once again, on a platform and another platform stood opposite him. Below him was a seemingly bottomless pit.

"' _A t_ _rusty sidekick will stay put on a button,'"_ thought Link. He scanned his platform for any sign of a button.

 **Clonk. Clonk. Clonk.**

Link watched in fascination as Cheshire moved to the left. It stepped on a round, glowing part of the floor.

 **Fwoooooom…**

A lovely bridge made entirely of light materialised across the gap. It's guard rails swirled in circles like a form of cursive writing.

"Cheshire, you're way ahead of me! Now, you stay there for a moment. There must be a switch on the other side."

Looking at Cheshire to make sure it didn't step off of the switch by accident, Link stepped onto the bridge.

" **OHP** "

Link looked behind him. To his surprise and terror, two of the statues that used to be near the entrance of the room had come alive and were hopping towards him. These ones weren't friendly, though. They were made of stone and spikes swirled around their bottom half. They had one freakishly organic eye in their middle and crystals on their back ends.

"That's their weakness!" exclaimed Link. He looked at Cheshire. It had an unmistakable look of fear in its eyes. It looked like it wanted to give chase, but it knew what would happen if it stepped off its button.

"Cheshire, stay there for now! I'll deal with these two in a bit!"

Link sprinted away from the spiteful statues. He dashed to the platform at the end of the bridge. Another switch sat at the end.

"Cheshire, you can step off the switch now!" he called over. Cheshire seemed a bit confused but it did as it was told.

The bridge of light disappeared and the statues fell into the abyss below. " **Oyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoy!** " they bellowed as they vanished from sight.

Link stepped onto the switch on his side and the bridge materialised again.

"You can come across now!" The statue began to slowly hop along the bridge. Link tried his hardest not to accidentally lose his balance and fall off the switch. To avoid this, he gently sat down on the button.

Finally, the statue made it to the other end. Link opened up his book once more.

" _If you are successful, turn to page 2 for the final passage._ "

Link rolled his eyes at the fact that the final challenge was on the second page, but he flipped back to the beginning of the book.

" _Face the final challenge at the top of the tower._ "

"Well, that's no proverb. How are we meant to reach the top of the tower, though?" said Link, expecting a response.

Cheshire started to glow and glow and glow. As if responding, two doors in the wall in front of them whirred open. Inside was a futuristic-looking capsule.

"Way to go, Cheshire!"

" _ **I am ready to devote myself fully to this mission.**_ "

The two headed into the capsule. Inside was a wall of buttons, just like the lift at Dragon Roost. Link pressed the button of the highest number he could find. The doors slid shut.

" **Doors closing.** " came a robotic voice from a speaker. the capsule smoothly started rising.

This was it.

The final test.

* * *

The lift abruptly stopped on the final floor and the doors opened.

" **50** **th** **floor. Doors opening.** "

Link and Cheshire both got out of the lift and immediately felt the temperature change. Well, only Link did. He was 50 stories in the air, so the atmosphere was rather thin. The two advanced around the walkway and finally came across a big door.

" _ **I am sensing the presence of**_ _**a large but well-intentioned robot on the other side of this door. He shall test your power. Are you ready to go in?**_ _"_

Link looked at the statue and nodded. The statues eyes shone a little and the giant door glowed before rising upwards. The two stepped inside.

* * *

This room was very large. Eerie, glowing symbols decorated the walls. In the room ahead, the two could clearly see the outline of two hands and a head in the middle.

Suddenly, the room went almost entirely dark. The only illumination came from the Hylian symbols on the wall.

" _ **Oh, Hero.**_ " came a deep, gentle voice from the head at the end of the room. For all its gentleness, it still made Link's neck hair prick up. Cheshire hopped next to him and nuzzled his side. That was its equivalent of a comforting hand on the shoulder.

" ** _You have done well to find this place,_** "said the voice. " ** _Oh, Chosen One… Accept this final challenge._** "

Suddenly, a row of lines started glowing. They ended at the hand on the left. It burst out of a depression in the wall. The same happened with the right hand. Finally, the ground began to shake as the head started to break free.

 **SMASH!**

The head broke out of its mould in the middle of the wall. The lights came back on and the head and hands began floating around in front of the duo, coursing with blue energy.

" ** _Master, even though this robot is not an enemy, it is testing your strength. You need to fight back._** " gabbled Cheshire as it hopped around the room to avoid the robot.

" ** _Can you save this world… and all those who live in it?_** " droned the robot as it raised a hand into the air. Link dived out the way as it smashed to the floor.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMM!**

Link eyed the hand closer. Now that he was paying attention, he could clearly see that there was a glass orb in the middle, designed like an eye.

The boy took out his bow and aimed it at the hand.

" ** _Are you ready for this responsibility?_** " asked the great robot as it began moving its hand towards Link once again.

"Yes!" answered Link as he let his arrow loose.

 **TWOING!**

His arrow flew through the air, striking the glass orb. It shattered and the hand drifted upside-down through the air limply.

" ** _Very_ … _good..._** " said the robot as it began moving its other hand.

Suddenly, Cheshire piped up from the other side of the room.

" ** _Opponent identified. Gohdan. Boss of the Tower of the Gods. It is a test for those who believe that they can earn a hero's title. Disable its hands, then its eyes._** "

Thank- **AARGH!** " squawked Link as he dived out the way of another slamming hand. He responded to this attack by sniping the right hand.

" ** _Impressive..._** " mused Gohdan.

With both of its hands disabled, Gohdan opened its eyes. Link had to disable those next.

" _ **Prove to me that you are worthy.**_ "

With that, Gohdan turned a bit and closed its eyes. It then opened its mouth. A fireball materialised inside.

It was aiming straight at Cheshire.

"Cheshire! Watch out!" called Link as he ran over. Cheshire's eyes widened in fright as it hopped to the left.

" _ **Hyper**_ … _ **FIIIIIIIRE!**_ " bellowed Gohdan as he let out fireball after fireball on the statue. Cheshire disappeared behind a thick veil of fire and smoke.

"No!"

" _ **I**_ … _ **am sorry..."**_ said the boss as he turned back towards Link. The boy was now standing still in absolute shock and disbelief, waiting for the smoke to clear so he could check on Cheshire.

" _ **Are you afraid… to face the evil one?"**_

Link took out his bow once again and shot a set of arrows at the statue. One hit its left eye, which went out. Another hit its right eye. It shattered. The head dropped to the floor and the hatch that resembled its mouth whirred open. It was just the right size and shape for…

 **A BOMB!**

Link ran forward with a bomb and placed it into the robot's mouth. The hatch slammed shut, almost trapping his fingers in it. He fled back as-

 **BOOOOOOM!**

The bomb exploded. Smoke poured from the head's nostrils. Slowly, the shattered glass in its eyes and hands repaired itself as it rose back into the air.

" ** _You have done well to pass this trial. You… are the hero chosen by the gods. The path can now be opened._** "

"All right!" exclaimed Link, sheathing his weapons. This excitement was short lived.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!**

The sound of electricity buzzing made him jump and turn.

Whatever was happening in the fire and smoke wasn't good.

"Cheshire!"

All the smoke and the fire vanished into thin air. Cheshire was glowing red from the heat. Even when it stopped glowing, its lights flickered on and off.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!**

Link looked down. There was a giant gaping hole in the statue. The fireballs had burned straight through it. There was even a bit of fire behind the statue from where it burned through.

"Oh, no! Cheshire, is there anything I can do to help? Please! Say it fast!"

There was a long pause.

" _ **HeLl-H**_ _ **E**_ _ **l-h**_ _ **E**_ _ **-he**_ _ **L**_ _ **p.**_ " buzzed Cheshire. It was glitching wildly. Its voice was going up and down, it was repeating itself and its lights were flashing.

Link tried to control his shuddering breaths. He took out his Wind Waker and tried to conduct the melody that he'd used to summon it in the first place…

 **BOOM!**

Finally, the statue exploded, sending Link flying backwards. When he put his head up, Cheshire was gone. A black mark on the floor was all that remained.

"S-sorry..." said Link, his voice breaking. "I… Thank you. Thank you for helping me..."

With a heavy heart, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and walked up into a ray of light that shone upon a dais.

Suddenly, he found himself lifted from the ground and slowly rising into the air. All the sorrow and regret in him was slowly washed away as he was bathed in the light. He rose out of a hole in the ceiling and came face to face with the rope of a giant bell. As he hung in midair, Link grabbed the rope for support.

The bell started to ring and ring and ring. The sound spread across the great sea.

 **BONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG! BONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG! BONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!**


	18. Grey

**DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG!**

As the bell rang, several harmless statues rose out of the ground and pointed their swords into the air.

While Link was swinging on the bell rope, his vision suddenly started blurring. This startled the boy and he let go of the rope.

Next thing he knew, he was lying on top of the King of Red Lions outside the tower.

"Link, don't be alarmed. You are just fine," said the boat. "The gods simply warped you out of the tower. Saves you doing the trials again!"

Link groggily waved his head around and tried to focus his eyes. In front of him, a blinding yellow light was protruding out of the water. It wasn't covering a wide area, just a small circle in front of him.

"Sir… What's that?" asked Link. He was a little nervous, like something was about to come blasting out.

"That is no bad sign." assured the King. "Do you remember how I said that a grown man couldn't take on Ganon earlier?" There was a lot of politeness in his voice. It was as if he was in a meeting.

Link nodded.

"Well, we need to go into that circle and acquire the power to beat him."

"What is this 'power to beat him'?"

"Let us find out."

Before Link could protest the boat's secrecy, the King cruised into the circle. It's back end began lowering into the water.

"Sir! We're sinking!" cried Link as water lapped over his boots. The king shook his head.

"Do not fear, my boy. Our destination lays beep beneath the waves."

"WHAT? I can't breathe underwater! I can't swim for that long either!" the water was now up to Link's neck.

"Swimming and holding your breath won't be necessary."

Finally, the two completely vanished underwater.

* * *

Underwater was more beautiful than Link could ever have imagined. Seaweed rose into the air like snakes, rocks rose up above the surface, coral was floating around the rocks, it was all a sight to behold.

One problem, though:

There were no fish.

No matter where he looked, there were no fish anywhere. It was eerily empty. He did see a shadow the size of a building propelling itself through the water with a set of countless tentacles... It gave him the shivers, but he ignored it when it swam into the black depths of the sea.

Link continued holding his breath as he descended further and further under the ocean. He found himself slowly turning blue after thirty seconds.

 **HE WAS RUNNING OUT OF AIR.**

" **HUUUUH!** " Link let all of the air out of his lungs. He was doomed.

Instinctively, he took a deep breath inwards.

He didn't start choking. Link took big breaths in and out. He could breathe the water as if it were air. The King was right.

"See! I told you!" guffawed the King. Link rolled his eyes and looked down. Where were they going?

The boy felt the water disappearing around him to be replaced by… stale air. The colour drained from everything, including the boy and his boat.

Below him lay land. Link couldn't believe his eyes. A giant, grey castle stood in the centre of a massive, grey pond. Grey fields sprawled over to grey mountains, which were covered in grey snow.

"What on earth is this?" spluttered Link as the boat came to land in the motionless water. As it stopped, the water didn't even move under the boat. A nearby stream of water coming from a water feature was also frozen in time.

"It is too long for words," the King said, "but all will be-"

Link angrily pounded his fist on the tiller of the boat, making the boat stop talking instantly. The King was aghast. Even Link felt that he had gone too far. He scuffed his boot on the deck of the boat and rubbed his sore hand as the pain started setting in.

"I'm sorry… I'll just go. I may be gone for some time."

He jumped out of the boat and walked in through the grand, grey entrance to the castle, more than a little ashamed of himself.

"Link! Stop! Wait!" called the King, but Link was long gone.

* * *

The inside of the castle was also completely grey. The red carpet was grey, a large statue of a man proudly thrusting his sword into the air was grey, the corridors up a set of stairs were grey, even the parts that weren't grey were grey. Wait, did I just pop in a copy of The Haunted Castle by mistake?

Link was feeling awful about what he had done. He never lost his temper usually and a remark by a talking boat is what tipped him. It was one of those feelings where you know why you did something and you knew it was warranted, but you still feel bad afterwards.

" _If_ _only_ _he would just tell me what I needed to do and give me context! He'll end up getting me killed later on!_ " he thought.

 **BUMP!**

Link jumped back, having just walked straight into a Moblin. Its flesh wobbled madly as did the look of rage on its face.

"Aaargh!"

Link waited for the enemy to attack but… it did nothing. His flesh just stopped wobbling. He was frozen in time with everything else.

Looking around the room, there were several other Moblins and several armoured knights like the one in the Tower of the Gods. They were all in various poses. One soldier was about to take a step, a Moblin was in the middle of scratching his ear, another Moblin was halfway through falling off a balcony, an armoured guard was reaching down after him and another Moblin was running away, terrified, from a tiny spider, also frozen in time.

Calming down, Link descended the carpeted stairs. Taking a closer look at the pedestalled statue from its correct side, the front.

It was of a proud man in suspiciously similar clothing to him. He held a flashy-looking sword aloft and a durable-looking shield by his side.

Looking closer, Link could see a triangular emblem on the base of the pedestal. It was two triangles next to each other and another one on top.

A triangle with an upside down triangle cut into it.

The Sierpinski Triangle.

Link approached the statue and looked at the emblem closer. The upside down triangle in the middle was sticking out a bit, as if it was supposed to be pressed in.

" _Is this a switch?"_

Link pressed his hand against it. He seriously did not think it would work, but the triangle sunk into the pedestal.

 **RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!**

With a mighty rumble that shook the ground, the statue juddered backwards. The shaking made Link's entire body vibrate like an alarm clock. When the statue stopped moving, a staircase led down underground.

 **Booooom…**

The wind of a small explosion chillingly blew into the castle. This was enough to send Link down the staircase in paranoia.

* * *

Down the stairs was a hidden chapel-style room. A small walkway led over to a dais. Fake stained glass windows bespangled the walls, containing images of strange people he didn't know. They were slightly hard to make out because of the lack of colour. On the dais was a sword that was stuck in a pedestal. A ray of light from a skylight was trying to shine down on the sword, but the complete absence of colour blotted it out.

"I could use that..." mused Link as he wondered down another set of steps towards the sword.

He clambered up onto the dais and looked at the sword. It looked... surprisingly bland.

The whole quillion was grey, the blade itself was grey, its pedestal was grey-

Oh, wait, that's just because there's no colour in the place at all. Let me try again.

The sword was beautiful, even though its colour had faded. The hilt was beautifully carved to resemble a bird folding its wings inwards, light was somehow glinting off of the blade and it had a black jewel encrusted on the front. It was double edged and seemed to have more reach than Link's current sword.

"Sorry, Trusty Rusty… but you have to go home now..." said Link softly as he placed Trusty Rusty in his bag. He was a little sad to put his trusty, rusty sword away, but it had served its purpose. "Right then!"

Link stood up on the podium and wrapped both hands around the handle of the sword. It felt really smooth and soft.

With a deep breath, he pulled the sword upwards with all his might.

 **RRRK!**

The metal made… that sound but that was it.

"Come on!" grunted Link. He dug his boots into the pedestal as hard as he could and yanked on the sword again.

 **SHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…**

The sword slid against the pedestal for a second, but it got stuck again. This was supposed to be a big, climactic moment in Link's head but he felt like he was giving a dramatic performance in a play before the whole of Outset Island, only to fall off the stage halfway through his lines. He was really wishing he had packed butter with his food. Maybe that would make it slide out easily.

The sword made awful noises against its base as it loosened further and further. As it got looser, the screaming transitioned into female voices… singing in his ears.

Link heaved even harder until, with a shrill shriek of sword on stone, the sword came out of the pedestal and into Link's hands.

The sword felt amazing. It was easy to handle, the handle itself was smooth and very comfortable and this sword had more range than his old sword. The boy thrust his new sword into the air, discharging a circle of wind across the room which rippled across the surrounding water like a gentle ocean breeze.

 **CLANK!**

Link jumped and looked up. Several giant statues above him slowly lowered their massive swords towards him.

Just by looking at them, Link could tell that these weren't his enemies. Like musketeers, they all clashed their swords together over the top of him.

" **A new Hero has claimed the Master Sword. Here's to him wiping out the evil one.** " hummed the statues, their voices shaking the room.

"'The Master Sword'?" echoed Link. "Wow! Amazing!" With that, he slashed it around for a while. It felt great. Like peeling the plastic bit off a new phone. The sword was very light to hold, but it seemed like it would hit heavily.

Suddenly, a speck of light flashed from the pedestal. Link froze when he saw it.

 **KZZT!**

The spark flashed again. And again. Before long, it had engulfed the entire room and Link shut his eyes due to the brightness. When he opened them again, colour had filled the castle. It was magnificent. The stained glass windows were blooming with colour, the carpets turned red, the torches danced on the walls and the Master Sword was not grey. It's blade was shiny and silver and the quillion was dark blue. The Master Sword… Link had finally found a better weapon! He didn't think he could get better than Trusty Rusty, but he was gladly eating his words.

 **CRUMP!**

A loud crash shook the room. The boy heard feet pounding and monsters shouting above him. The monsters were no longer frozen in time and they were now marching around the castle.

At first he felt… nervous. There were about ten armoured knights and ten Moblins up there.

But then he remembered: He had the Master Sword! Nothing could possibly stop him now! Bursting with confidence, Link headed up the stairs to fight off the monsters.

* * *

" **That's the fourth time you fell off the balcony! TODAY!** "

" **Well, put in some guard rails, then!** "

" **All you have to do is not go close to the edge!** "

" **Oop! I need to go! Just hang on a minute!** "

" **No! Don't! The toilet's still out of order!** "

" **What can I do? I can't just… hold it in!** "

" **Just** … **cross your legs or something and whatever you do, don't think of a trickling stream!** "

" **NOW ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS A TRICKLING STREAM!** "

"Hey!"

All the chatter from the monsters stopped. They all jumped and turned to face Link. Several of them were bewildered. One Moblin rubbed his eyes.

" **The Hero of Time? When did he get here?** " came the voice of one of the knights. It echoed in his helmet.

One of the Moblins began looking at Link and the statue of the man that hid the church below. " **He looks a lot… tinier in real life!** "

" **Never mind! Just get him!** "

One of the Moblins suddenly got pranged in the pants by a pointy pike, prompting the perplexed porcine to pounce into the air. One of his peers was 'volunteering' him.

" **Right… You! Let's-** " Before the Moblin had finished talking, Link had sent him flying through the air with his new sword.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!** "

The Moblin flew into the wall a few meters away and crashed to the floor causing the whole ground to shake. Link wobbled at the mini-earthquake. All the other monsters watched as he had shot through the air and then they looked straight back at Link when the Moblin landed.

" **GET HIM!** " bellowed an armoured guard as he pointed his mace straight at Link.

" **CHAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!** "

All of the monsters started charging at the boy.

Link sprang over the swinging mace of an armoured knight, which had the word " **DARKNUT** " emblazoned on his armour, presumably his species.

Link leaped over the top of the Darknut and slashed the bungee chord holding his armour. Once again, the metal shot upwards, blocking the Darknut's vision.

" **Where are you? Aaargh!** " yelled the Darknut as he swivelled in circles before Link quickly finished him off with the Finishing Blow that Orca had taught him.

Link turned to find a Moblin sprinting at him, lantern in hand.

Link feigned fright, sprinting up a set of stairs and running across a wallside corridor. Within a second, another torch-wielding Moblin had come up the other side and cornered him. They held out their lanterns to try and burn him.

"You know… I'm growing a little hot under the collar here!" laughed Link nervously as the villains approached him.

Perfect.

No, seriously. Link had them right where he wanted.

First, one of the Moblins thrust their lantern forwards. Link dodged out the way and Landed on the other side of the other Moblin, causing him to turn. The smell of greasy bacon filled the air.

"Did anyone order crispy bacon?" snickered Link with a smug grin. The Moblin's eyes widened and its nose twitched. What was that smell and why was his behind hurting?

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGH! MY BUM!** " screamed the porky monster as he leaped into the air, clutching his burning bottom.

Link's plan had worked! He had tricked a Moblin into torching his own friend! Whilst the two started arguing, which escalated to throwing punches, Link took the distraction to finish them off, wiping them both out with a single hit from the Master Sword.

Link leaped off the side onto an unsuspecting Darknut. With a single vertical slash, it disintegrated and his armour and belt clattered to the floor, the armour set perfectly slashed in half.

The next bit was all a blur. All Link could remember was sprinting about the castle fighting enemies with the Master Sword and then within two minutes, all the monsters were gone. Link looked at his sword and then the masses of butterfly pendants, skull necklaces and leather belts strewn across the floor. That one sword... destroyed all those enemies? Link gave a slight grin to himself... Was this what power felt like?

Link dispersed of his disturbingly uncharacteristic smile, feeling that the King wouldn't really approve of that.

 _"Speaking of the King, I'd better go and apologise."_

* * *

Now that everything was no longer frozen, the water was rolling about and the King of Red Lions was bobbing left and right. He was looking at him, thinking.

Oh.

Well, this is awkward.

The boy shuffled along the floor and hopped across the stepping stones to the boat.

"Sir… I'm sorry… That was completely unacceptable." murmured Link, very sincerely.

"I'm sorry, my boy. I know it's unacceptable but if I told you everything-" started the boat.

"What? Oh, oh, no. I meant what I did was unacceptable. I… don't know what came over me."

"Look. It's understandable why you'd be angry. The reason I do it is that… if I told you everything, you might get reckless and go charging into any problem."

"I… know I do that sometimes. You are forgiven."

The King then gave Link a smile. A wide smile that seemed happy and proud. One that reminded him of his father. Link felt a little tug of emotion in his throat, but he quickly coughed and climbed into the boat.

"Look what I got in the castle!" interrupted Link as he pulled his new sword out and maneuvered it around. The King looked at it from all angles, curiously examining it like when Link bought him his sail. After a moment, he smiled and nodded.

"Job's a good one. You are becoming more and more independent by the hour, aren't you? That is the Master Sword, and it is the one weapon capable of taking on Ganon." The boat's face drooped as he thought back to what happened earlier. "I was thinking about our... conversation, let's say..." Link felt a bit of sadness as the King's voice fell slightly. "...and I have made a decision. After our foe has fallen, I shall tell you everything. About this castle... about Ganon... anything you want to know. Is that all right?"

"Yes. Yes, sir." Link replied, standing straight and saluting. To his surprise, he wasn't lying.

 _"_ _Your reign of terror ends here, Ganon!_ "


	19. A Kept Promise

Slowly, the boat began to rise into the air. Link eyed the mountain in the distance that was cut off above the barrier. As the boat ascended higher and higher, the two were submerged in water. Colourful plants and rocks surrounded them. Link kept his eyes on the mountain as it continued to rise up and up and up.

 **SPLASH!**

Finally, the boat surfaced at the Tower of the Gods. Link had continued watching the mountain as it broke above the surface and when it did, an island took its place.

"Oh… my… goodness!"

"What is it?" asked the King. He looked a little concerned when he turned his head and tried to follow his gaze.

"Are our islands actually… those mountains we saw from below?" Link looked at the figurehead for an answer, but it just sighed and looked down.

"I'm sorry that I'm doing this again… but it won't make sense at the moment. I shall show you after you beat Ganon. Speaking of Ganon..."

Link's face fell, but he understood. He didn't get angry or frustrated.

"It's time for us to go and get your sister!" finished the King. Link's face shot back up again. Now was the time he was able to free his sister! The Master Sword could supposedly obliterate Ganon, the one who was tormenting him and his people! The fact finally sunk in…

The most important sword in the world… It belonged to him and him only!

"Right! Let's go! I'm feeling good! Ganon's going down!" announced Link, sending the wind northwest. The wind seemed to brush against his back before courageously whizzing off to the Forsaken Fortress.

It had his back.

The boy stomped on the sail button and they were off.

* * *

Now that Link was about to rescue his sister and finally go back to a normal life, the journey went by very quickly yet somehow very slowly at the same time. The exhilaration was amazing yet unbearable at the same time. He leaped the boat over rocks, he sped past islands and fifteen minutes later, they were halfway there. Northern Triangle Island.

The wind picked up, pricking up the hairs on the back of the boy's neck.

"Did you feel that?" asked Link. The boat turned his head around, a grave look on his face.

"I feel a foul presence in the air." he replied. Link looked around. What could this evil being be?

" **MWAH HA HA HA! YOU DARE NOT FEAR ME?! I SHALL USE THIS CYCLONE TO SEND YOU FLYING ALL THE WAY TO THE OTHER END OF THE GREAT SEA! MWAH HA HA HA! I AM VERY EVIL! MWAH HA HA HA! I SHALL MAKE YOUR TRAVELLING REALLY INCONVENIENT! MWAH HA HA HA!** "

What? Link looked at where the voice was coming from and to his left…

A giant cyclone advanced towards him. At the top was a giant red frog sitting in a cloud.

"Zephos' brother! Cyclos!" shouted Link as the dots clicked. "You know, I thought Zephos was just making fun of his brother when he said that."

"Now's no time for that! Quick! Let's get out of here!" panted the King. Link steered the boat away but he started getting drawn into the tornado.

" **Let the winds consume you!** " cackled Cyclos as the boy and his boat slowly approached the middle of the cyclone.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Link drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

"I hope I don't kill him with this..." he said softly before he let go of the string. The arrow flew into the bottom of the cyclone. It went spinning upwards into the air like one of those curly drink straws before finally…

 **CRAAAAAAAASH!** " **AAAAAAAAAAARGH!** "

With a blinding flash of light, the cyclone stopped tearing up the ocean. Link held his hands over his eyes until the light faded.

" _Please say I didn't just kill him..."_ he thought as he looked up.

Cyclos was not dead. Instead he had the arrow stuck in his forehead, his arms were crossed and he was looking up at the arrow as if it were a fly that had just landed on his head on a hot day. Using his index finger, he flicked the arrow into the air and caught it between his thumb and index.

"Is this **your** arrow?" asked the god, holding the arrow aloft. He looked like he was doing it in the same sense of disgust as when a child has to pick up his dog's business.

"Um… yes… I'm sorry, but I'm on an important-" stuttered Link. This was a god he was talking to. He could very likely strike him down if he was mad enough.

" **WELL, WHAT AN EYE!** Most people can't even see me up there!" cackled Cyclos. His voice almost blew Link into the ocean.

"T-they don't?"

" **AND WHAT AN ARM!** It takes a real arm and a half to hit me with an arrow! Where did you learn that? Who are you?"

The frog shrunk down to Link's size just as Zephos did.

"Link… sir."

"Well, well, well! Where are you going?"

"The Forsaken Fortress."

" **WHAT?** "

"Yeah, long story short, I need to retrieve my sister from it."

The frog took a large pause, thinking.

" **WELL!** I can help you there! You see, there is a song you can conduct on the Wind Waker that allows you to use cyclones to reach certain destinations. Usually, they cannot take you to the Forsaken Fortress but just this once, I'll call in an elite cyclone to whisk you right there!" announced Cyclos.

Link jumped up a bit out of excitement. "What is the song?" he asked.

"Right! Let me demonstrate it. **AHEM!** "

Cyclos grew in size and rose into the air slightly.

" **LAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!** " he boomed. With each note, he moved down, right, left, and then upwards. Another 4/4 song.

Link took out the Wind Waker and cleared his throat. He moved his free hand to the left.

Down, right, left, up.

The song that this produced sounded magical. Like that of a first flight, like that of a flying dream, it just lived and breathed flying.

" **OK! Now hold on!** " shouted Zephos as he flew away cackling.

 **WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!**

Link froze and looked behind himself. A different tornado was speeding towards them. This one had winds that glowed golden.

"Oh, not again!"

The King turned to Link. "This cyclone is not our enemy! Just do as Cyclos said and hold on, Link!"

Link shut his eyes as his hair started to blow wildly as the golden gale drew nearer and nearer. Suddenly, the boat started spinning faster and faster and faster. With a mighty splash, it was lifted from the water.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!** " screamed the boy as the boat whirled like a propeller through the skies. Forty agonising seconds later, the sun turned into the moon. The boat splashed back into the water, spinning furiously as it slowed down.

"I feel like I'm going to honk!" groaned Link as his vision spun like a top.

"Don't worry, Link. We are here now. The Forsaken Fortress."

Link shook his head around to stop seeing double and when his head stopped spinning, he could see it.

 **THE FORSAKEN FORTRESS.**

* * *

The fortress looked the exact same as when Link had been launched over. The sun still had been replaced by the moon, it still looked like a tree, it still had giant, curvy searchlights and a shabby, wooden gate was what blocked them this time. If they could break it, they would be in, in no time.

"Sir?" piped Link. The King turned his head and eyed him, interested.

"Yes? What is it, my boy?"

"Can you deploy the cannon again, please?"

The King seemed a little confused at this but he did as he was told.

"What are you up to?" asked the King. Link slowly cruised to the door.

 **BOOM!**

A bomb flew through the air and hit the gate with a bang. In a shower of planks, the way through was clear.

"Why, I'm surprised I didn't think of that! Well done!" guffawed the King before silencing himself. Who knew if there weren't patrol boats around?

The two slowly floated through the gate and stopped at a dock. The dock lead to a set of stairs. These stairs hairpinned around onto the platform where Link landed on his first visit.

This time he was armed.

"Link, I understand that you really want to save your sister. It has been a very long time after all," stated the King of Red Lions as Link climbed over his figurehead to the dock. "But don't let that confidence get the best of you! We all know what happened last time!"

Link unsheathed the Master Sword. "But I have this! I can't possibly lose now!" he said excitedly.

The King shook his head. "You felt that way last time. Just make sure that you stay wary. For all we know, they might have some super-strong backup monster to combat the Master Sword."

This knocked the wind right out of Link's sails. Already, paranoia was pumping through his body. His heart started beating faster.

"Oh… well… um… I'll… just go now while I have the chance. I am just… going inside and may be some time."

Link uneasily started to go up the stairs. "Please take care of yourself!" called the King. "If something goes wrong, I'll never forgive myself!"

Link didn't respond. As he reached the flat plateau of stone, he noticed that everything was ear-splittingly silent.

Suddenly, a searchlight shone over him. The boy winced and looked into the bright light, shielding himself with his arm.

Surprisingly, no alarms were raised. No guards came out. The light just hovered over him and kept on going.

"Well, that guy's getting fired." mused Link as he carried on. There was a big, wooden door ahead. That was his target.

Link looked at his shadow in the shining beam of a passing searchlight. It hovered in front of him, mirroring his movements.

In confusion, Link moved to the left and then dived to the right. The searchlight kept up with some difficulty.

 _"What is it doing?"_

Link's heart stopped. A second shadow had been cast in the light. A big, burly man with two horns on the side of his head wearing a tattered cape and wielding a giant sword was slowly approaching him.

"Ganon!" snapped Link as he turned around. Nothing was behind him. Link drew his sword and pointed it left and right as if it were a gun.

"Ganon, I know that was you! Just come out! Now!"

Link waited for a response.

…

…

…

Nothing.

" **Hmm hmm hmm huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh...** "

A deep, gravely laugh crept up the back of Link's neck.

Link whirled around. Still nothing.

Nothing but a black, round shadow in the floor.

This shadow slowly started to rise out of the ground. It formed the shape of a man. A rather large man wearing a barbarian's helmet and a tattered cape, red eyes gleaming through the eye holes of his helmet. His hand was wrapped around a large, black blade with Hylian letters on the side. He was decorated with faded purple curlicues. Black smoke was hissing from his body.

"You're not Ganon!" hissed Link in frustration. Great(!) A distraction!

The phantom did another thunderous laugh.

" **UH HA HA HA HA HA HA!** "

Link readied himself, as did the monster.

The monster known as Phantom Ganon.

* * *

Link dove in for a strike but the fiend vanished. He reappeared several feet in the air, about five meters away from the boy. With a shout of effort, he raised his hand into the air and generated a ball of blue energy at the end. With a flick of his hand, the ball was hurtling towards Link.

" _I have an idea! I'll show him just how strong I am by chopping that attack clean in two!"_

Link raised his sword into the air with a shout of bravery before he brought it down.

Instead of splitting in two and crashing to the floor around him, the ball ricocheted back at the phantom. Link looked at his sword in surprise. Phantom Ganon looked at the approaching ball of energy with surprise.

Not messing around, the shadow struck the ball with a sword attack of his own. At a faster speed, the ball sped at Link and smashed into him, sending him flying back.

"Argh!"

Phantom Ganon vanished into thin air and reappeared on the ground, far away from Link.

" **You amuse me, kid.** " he jeered.

The way he spoke sent a chill up Link's spine. He had a very deep voice and it sounded like it had been put through a modulator.

The boy picked himself up and charged at the phantom, screaming and dragging his sword across the floor to create sparks.

" **Even with that sword, there is no way you can win!** "

Link lifted his sword from the ground and swished it at the monster, who simply disappeared and came back flying in the air, his hand on his hip and his other on the hilt of his weapon.

" **Catch, greenie!** " bellowed Phantom Ganon as he materialised another blue projectile and threw it.

Link narrowed his eyes in concentration. As the ball of energy approached, he returned it with his sword.

As did the phantom.

As did Link.

As did the phantom.

As did Link.

As did the phantom.

As did Link.

The ball bounced back and forth like a rather deadly match of Tennis. Faster and faster and faster it went until Link was returning the ball of energy twice with a single swing of his sword.

Finally, the phantom missed his return and the energy zapped into him. He flashed with blue energy as he screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Link leaped through the air and unleashed attack after attack on him.

Suddenly, Phantom Ganon sprang to his feet and blocked the last few.

" **You shouldn't have come back here...** "

Link leaped as the Phantom prepared a counterattack. Their blades smashed together as they hurtled through the air.

Sparks flew from the blades as the two struggled to overpower each other. Phantom Ganon was physically stronger than him, but Link's Master Sword seemed to power itself.

After a full minute of grunting and sparks, Phantom Ganon's sword flew out of his hand and clanged to the floor. Link raced to grab in and chucked it with all his might.

 **SMAAAAAAAAASH!**

The phantom yelled and vanished, as did his sword. He reappeared high up in the air, sword in hand.

He laughed again. A low, rumbling laugh that sounded like a light rumble of thunder. He spun in circles, vanishing into thin air. This time, he didn't come back.

One last taunt blew through the air as an echo carried on the wind.

" **You have no idea what you have done by claiming that sword...** "

* * *

Link turned to go through the door when he heard something fall behind him with a thump. He turned around and something had fallen through the air and landed on the ground behind him, cracking the paving.

It looked like a skull on a stick. Link pulled it out of the mini crater to examine it. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a giant hammer. A skull design was carved into the back, making it look like the skull had a hockey puck in its mouth.

Waiting to see just how far his bag could stretch, Link put the handle of the hammer inside. He then began to lower it.

The hammer kept disappearing further and further and further inside until he only had the large skull to cram in. Before he could do so, the lips of his bag stretched upwards, swallowing the entire hammer. The boy stood up. He couldn't even feel any extra weight.

"Cool!" hummed Link as he headed into the fortress.

* * *

Let me get this out of the way: The way up was easy. The only reason Link had to avoid the guards last time was because he's dropped his sword. Any guard that saw him now would be slashed into salami in no time. He followed directions by memory, occasionally stopping to check You Are Here maps posted in corridors and before long he had reached the door his sister was behind.

Already, he could tell that the security had been slightly improved. Instead of the door just being guarded by an incompetent Bokoblin, there was a stake sticking out of the ground. This stake controlled a wooden lock that crossed the door.

Having been waiting to test it out, Link pulled out his Skull Hammer and smashed the stake into the ground. Sure enough, the lock raised into the air. Voices came from inside the room ahead.

"What was that noise?"

"I don't know, but I hope it's good!"

Link held his breath and cracked the door open. Something was irking him. It was what the phantom had told him just before he cut contact.

What had he done by pulling out the Master Sword?

He had returned colour to an entire castle and wiped out a horde of monsters! If that's not a good thing then I don't know what is!

 **BOOM!**

A sudden explosion sounded from behind him. He jumped and turned. Something flew through the air in his peripheral vision, but he didn't quite get a good look at it.

That just about did it for him. Someone had obviously just tried to shoot him. This tempted Link through the door.

 **CREEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKK…**

* * *

Link cracked open the door and held it open using an upturned bucket. The sounds of chatter stopped and Link felt dozens of eyes locked onto him.

What he saw made him feel sick to his stomach.

Back when he was here before, only Aryll, a rich girl and a poor girl were trapped in the cell on the right. Now, both cells were crammed with prisoners. All of them girls. Several of them had ripped clothes, others were dirty and the rest looked STARVING. It was ambiguous whether they were fed or not. I mean, they must have been fed to have survived this long, but still.

"Who's that?"

"You see him too? I thought I was seeing things!"

"No, he's real all right!"

"What's he here for?

"Is he a new prisoner?"

"No! He isn't being roughly handled by a Moblin! He can't be!"

Link cleared his throat. All of the cells fell silent.

"Hello… everybody." started Link. He glanced upwards for any sight of the bird. If it caught him again, his quest was over. Not completed but over. "Yes, I am 100% real and I have come to break you out of here!"

Suddenly, several people in the right cell started clearing away in a path. Panting noises were drawing closer and closer. Several of the girls voiced their annoyances. As the front line of girls split up, Link realised that someone had been pushing to the front.

Not just any old person, the person that he had been waiting to see.

His sister, Aryll.

Her face was that of waking up from a nightmare: Shaken, but incredibly relieved. Her dress was covered in black spots, as was her face and her hair, which was all over the place. They looked like a pair of yellow earphones that had been kept in someone's pocket for a week.

"Brother!" she squeaked, her voice cracking into a throaty whisper. "You came back!" Link approached the bars and squeezed her hands, a massive smile crossing his face.

"Yes, Aryll. It's me. I'm back." He glanced at the hole in the ceiling once more. "That bird didn't kill me. In fact-" Link then noticed the state of the girl. "What on earth did they do to you?"

Aryll seemed very confused. She then looked down and noticed that he was talking about all the dirt she was caked in.

"Oh… this. Well..." She bought her voice down so the others wouldn't hear. "Well… um… some of the girls here are pretty dirty. It also gets pretty cold in here so when we all get chilly, we huddle together to conserve body heat."

One of the girls at the front piped in. "Yeah! That was her idea!"

Aryll turned red and Link faltered at this. He remembered camping in the Forest of Fairies one night and it was raining heavily. Aryll had been shivering wildly, so Link had simply hugged her. They warmed up in minutes.

"Why, well done, sis! I remember teaching you that! Has that bird come to check on you yet?"

Aryll looked up at the ceiling.

"Well… no. He doesn't do that any more. Instead, some weird man in robes keeps coming down every few hours. He keeps yelling 'Which one of you girls is Princess Zelda? Tell me! Tell me now!'"

"Ganon..." seethed Link. Aryll half-shut one eye.

"Cannon?"

"No, Ganon. He's the guy that keeps shouting at you. I'm going to-" he cut himself off shamefully before he could break the news. It was probably best that she didn't know this. "Anyway, does he say anything else?"

"He keeps making threats that he never follows through on. A while ago, he threatened to flood the room in three days if we didn't tell him who this 'Zelda' gal is."

Link's heart sank. "What? How long ago?" he asked, practically shaking his sister in desperation.

"About three days ag-" Aryll stopped mid-sentence and her face fell.

"Right, I've got to free you immediately!" announced Link as he stood up and yanked out his sword. He was about to swing it but he quickly stopped halfway through.

Drat. The guards must have seen his slash mark and upgraded the bars and door to metal. Attacking these would not only be considered useless but it would also make a loud **CLANG** that would surely attract attention.

Link groaned in frustration before sheathing his sword and furiously shaking the doorknob of the right cell.

He noticed that all of the girls were staring at the door where he had come from.

Was there a guard in the room?

"The cell's not going to open just like that! There you go, acting before you think as usual!" said an eerily familiar voice.

* * *

Link turned around. There stood Tetra, Gonzo and Senza! They all stood next to each other with the latter two posing like they were in a circus. Link had never been more relieved to see a bunch of pirates in his life.

"Who- What- Where- When- Why?" spluttered Link. Tetra rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Look… I felt sorry about trying to steal Jabun's Pearl. Luring away that bird with cannonfire was the least I could do."

"So that was you? I wondered what that big bang was!"

All the prisoners were now gasping. Some rubbed their eyes.

"Right, men! Forwards!" ordered Tetra as she waved her two macho men to the cages. Gonzo stood by the right cage and Senza stood at the one on the left. Link moved out of the way for Gonzo to work his magic.

"Right..." he mused as he put his thumb and index finger on the doorknob before giving it a light pull. Well, it was light for his standards.

 **SNAP!**

The door snapped clean off its hinges. The pirate held the broken door in his digits, scratching his head. "Whoopsie! I broke it!"

Senza readied himself. "Kids, all of you, move to the left," he ordered, "this could get dangerous."

He winded up a punch and hit the door so hard it shot across the cell, crashing into the wall and leaving a ladder-shaped dent.

In seconds, almost every child in the cells had come running out, surrounding the two muscly men.

" **AAAAAAARGH! THEY'RE IN MY SHOES!** " cried Gonzo.

"All right, that's enough! I can't move!" said Senza.

Only one person was left at the doorway of the cell, with a face that screamed "never gonna experience sadness again".

Aryll.

She ran at her brother with a laugh of delight and jumped into his arms. Link caught his sister and hugged her as tight as he could. Even though Aryll would usually stop him because of how rough of a hugger he usually is, she didn't even notice. Link was usually knocked to the floor when he got glomped like this, but he barely stumbled under Aryll's weight this time. Tears of joy were spilling from both of their eyes.

Finally, almost all their worries were over.

Almost.

"Right, everyone! Get into teams! Half of the room on one and the other half as the second! I'm doing a head count." Tetra's nasally voice snapped the two back to reality. Link put his sister down and she ran into one of the two teams that were gathering.

"two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty..."

This counting went on for a bit. I shall spare you that part.

"fifty, fifty two, fifty four, fifty six, fifty eight… SIXTY! That's sixty kids all crammed into these cages. Seriously, how sadistic can they get? Anyway, you thirty are with Gonzo in the green shirt. The rest of you are with Senza in the blue! If you don't want to get yourself hurt, you should listen to them!"

"Really? How embarrassing! Listen? To… pirates?" said the rich girl in the dress at the front of the room. She spat 'pirates' out as if it were poisonous. "You pillage villages and steal! How can I trust you with our lives?"

Link cringed. Tetra's eyes narrowed. "What was that?" she shouted.

"You heard me! I said-"

"That they're pirates, and there's nothing wrong with that, Mila! They've come to rescue us! Do you want to get out of here or not?"

Who on earth was that? Link scanned the crowd for an angry-looking girl. To his surprise, it was his sister.

"I… guess I do. Thank you… and sorry." whispered Mila, shrinking down slightly and hiding her face with her fan.

"Fine. I accept your apology. EVERYBODY, LET'S GO!"

Link stared at his sister in amazement. Even he wasn't able to do that. He could fight giant lava scorpions, carnivorous plants and giant robot heads no problem but he just couldn't raise his voice against someone.

Aryll's eyes met his. She wondered over.

"Brother? Aren't you coming too?" she asked him. Link simply hugged her again. He couldn't come with her yet. He needed to go and find Ganon and give him a piece of his mind. And his sword.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!**

Everyone froze. Gonzo, Senza and the teams of children all teemed out the door, leaving the siblings and Tetra in the room.

"Oh no, that'll be the bird. He's back! Um… I'm sorry to cut this touching reunion short, I really am," said Tetra, genuine emotion in her voice, "but I'd think you'd better go off with the others… Carol, is it?"

"Aryll, miss pirate."

"Yes, Aryll. It's safer."

Aryll turned back to Link.

"But… aren't you coming with us?"

Link simply exhaled and shook his head.

"Sorry, sis… but I can't. I must go and defeat that man in the robes up there. I'll do it even if I have to smash my way through that bird to get to him!"

"But… what about last time?"

Link placed a hand on the grip of his new sword.

"I just got a shiny new sword! Much more powerful than my old one! I'll give that overgrown turkey the ol' one, two! He's going-"

Link met eyes with Tetra. Hers were wide with shock and mental questions.

With a strangled gasp, Link put his sword back.

"Link… was that..." she stuttered. Link looked nervously at his sword. What had he just done? "That's… impossible..."

"You mean the Master Swo-"

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!**

The bird was getting closer and closer by the second. The three looked up at the ceiling. A darkly familiar black shape glided across the night skies, golden plumage shining from its tail.

Link planted both his hands on his sister's shoulders.

"Sis, you need to get out of here before that bird gets in and sees you. Go with Tetra. She's nice enough."

Aryll looked terrified for her brother. She looked up as the bird flapped over the opening once again.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. **I'll** be fine. Granny is back home and she wants to see you. She has been worried sick. LITERALLY."

Aryll looked up as the bird started hovering down the hole.

"Tetra! If you run into some weird phantom guy with a massive sword on the way out, reflect his magic ball attack back with your cutlass, OK?"

Tetra looked a little confused but she nodded her head. If Link was giving super-specific information like that, it was obviously from experience.

Finally, Aryll wiped her eyes and nodded.

"OK, I understand! Please, miss pirate! Where did the others go?" asked Aryll quickly. Tetra took her by the hand and sprinted out the wooden door, a look of emergency on her face. "They went this way!" she announced, sprinting down the path. Link was alone.

Alone.

Alone with the feral, feathered freak.

The bird landed on the ground with a thud that shook the whole room. It glanced at both cages and noticed that all the prisoners were let out.

Link pulled his weapons out and stood in the toughest stance he could think of.

" **I'LL KILL YOU!** " he bellowed at the bird.

Unfortunately, this was heard by Aryll. She burst into panicked tears.

"There, there. Your brother will be fine. Just stick with me and I'll take you to my ship." said Tetra softly. Aryll looked back at the door as the two started to descend the stairs.

Link had kept his promise.

He had come back to rescue everyone.


	20. Not A Moment Too Soon

Link stared up at the feathered fiend as it eyed him up. He held his sword out at the bird as a warning. If the bird tried to grab him again, he was ready for it.

Suddenly, the bird lashed out with his beak open, just like last time. The boy dodged out of the way as the bird's beak jammed into the floor. Scanning the room for anything to use, Link noticed that the cells were a good safe spot, since there was no way the bird could fit in there. He raced to get in. As he dashed inside, the bird stuck its neck through the door. The bars began buckling from the strength of the flying monster and they even started to bend. The more they curved, the further it leaned inside, getting closer and closer to biting Link in half. It screeched wildly as it tried to reach the boy, who squished himself against the back wall. He was just out of range of the bird's snapping beak. As it screeched, Link felt the bird's cold breath on his face.

The bird began snapping closer and closer. As Link scanned through the objects he had picked up on his quest, he grabbed his bow and fired an arrow straight at the bird's eye.

 **Dink!**

Whatever mask it was wearing, however, also came with glass lenses that protected the bird's eyes from even the force of a flying arrow. Link felt sweat starting to flood in his boots as the bird's freezing breath engulfed him.

But... it realised that Link was too far back to reach. Instead of trying to outright break the bars, it backed its head through the door and took off into the air.

"Where are you going?!" Link called after it, shaking the Master Sword at the retreating enemy. "I'm not done with you! You've dragged me and my sister through too many hedges for you to just run!" The sweat was now up to his waist.

Wait, what? Sweating that much is not normal! What's going on?

Link looked down. He was not sweating at all. Water was gurgling from a golden grate in the floor and it was rising fast. True to his word, Ganon was trying to drown the prisoners, unaware that they had escaped. If Link didn't act fast, he would drown instead and the bird would be free to give chase to Tetra.

The boy's eyes whizzed around the room as the bird rose just above the water level. A boardwalk spiralled up around the room that eventually went out of the ceiling. Link glanced at the bird. It was scanning the path, looking for him. He couldn't just stay in the water until it reached the top. The bird would either eat him before then or he'd sink...

Link dove underwater to get out of site and swam to the boardwalk. When he felt wood around his hands, he pushed his head above the surface, shoving himself up and onto dry land.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!**

Link hurriedly clambered up and ran up the spiral. At that moment, the bird caught sight of him. They both kept their eyes locked onto each other as Link started running up the wooden boards. The bird let out a shriek as it reared itself to smash Link into the wall.

 **CRAAAAAAAAAASH!**

The charge missed its mark, smashing part of the boardwalk that was now behind Link. Pieces of wood tumbled through the air and landed in the water with several splashes.

Link began to run faster. If he were to get hit, he would fall and be trapped. He continued running up the path towards a large, ornate jar.

 **SMASH!**

The jar shattered into pieces and a green Bokoblin leaped out with a machete outstretched. Link winced and held his shield up.

 **Clang!** "I have no time for your games!"

In a heartbeat, the Master Sword sent the Bokoblin flying into the bird, covering its eyes. Using this distraction, Link dashed up the spiral. as the bird shook its head wildly to remove the Bokoblin and try and find its real prey.

 **SCREEEEEEEEECH!**

Another ear-piercing shriek came from below as the bird flapped all the way up to Link's level. It eyed the path in front of him, lined up and charged.

 **SMAAAASH!**

This time, the bird nailed the timing. The path smashed under Link's feet and he began falling down.

" **MMMMMPH!** " The boy let out a strangled scream as he plunged lower and lower, reaching his hands up to the ledge and just about grabbing onto the jagged edge. Now Link was hanging by his fingertips over the rising water. To anyone else, it just looked like he could have dropped, swam to the lower level and then jump over the missing part. To him... it was the equivalent of hanging over a lava pit.

With a sadistic grin, the bird opened its golden beak and charged. Link started to hear its shrieking reach ear-piercing levels. Then, the wind from its wings sent chills down his spine. It was only half a second away when Link shut his eyes and began praying for his life.

" _No. This isn't happening."_

" _All because of that stupid Bokoblin! If he hadn't got in the way, I could have seen this coming!"_

" _Please! Stop charging! I'll… I'll..."_

" _There's no way out of here! I'm doomed!"_

" _Well… at least Aryll is safe."_

" _Wait! I have an idea!"_

Link dropped off the edge just as the bird's golden beak rammed into the wall. Acting fast, he took out his grappling hook and hurled it into the air. It shot past the bird as it withdrew its beak and it wrapped around a torch that was hanging on the wall.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief and ran up the wall to find his footing, holding the rope as tightly as he could. When he got to the torch, he detached the grappling hook, slid down the wall and onto the path.

" _Now that I think about it, Medli's been saving my life with this thing!"_ thought Link, but there was no time to lose, the bird was rearing up for yet another attack. Link dove out of the way of the bird once again and took advantage its his jammed beak by shifting gears and charging up to the stars and moon as fast as he could.

His feet were moving so fast, he could barely feel the wood beneath him. As he ran and ran, the boy could just about make out what he was running for. A series of steps that led to the roof of the fortress. Nonetheless, the adrenaline made him nearly run straight into the wall.

He looked back at the bird over his shoulder. With a deafening shriek, it flew straight out of the hole and landed at the exit. It tucked his wings in and just stared at him, blinking quickly. No doubt, it was trying to stop him from escaping so he could drown... From how hopeful it looked, it was also obvious that it was aiming to snap him up and either eat him or toss him into the water.

That's when Link noticed what its mask was made of.

A kind of metal. Metal that looked like it could easily smashed to pieces with a big enough hammer.

Link bellowed a war cry as he yanked the Skull Hammer out and smacked the bird HARD in the face with it. With a scream, the bird pointed its damaged beak into the sky, lost its balance and fell clean off the platform. It plummeted towards the rising waters and disappeared with a colossal splash. Black and red feathers rose to the surface like little blooming flowers.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!**

Link put the hammer away, looked into the wreckage and violently slapped his hands together. At last, the foul fowl was no more. The boy sighed with relief before climbing up the steps, watching as a few more feathers and fragments of its mask rose into sight.

The horrible bird had put Link through absolute MISERY for his whole journey. He had kidnapped Link's sister, airlifted him right when he was about to save her and chucked him into the ocean to drown. This was satisfying for **me** to **write**!

And so, Link clambered out of the hole in the ceiling. Now he was on top of the Forsaken Fortress in a round arena. Link's eyes darted around. Was this where Ganon would turn up?

Short answer, no. Past a weird threshold was a winding path that led up to… the shipwreck.

That shipwreck from ages ago.

The shipwreck with **GANON** living in it.

"Here I come, Ganon!" grunted Link as he drew his sword and marched forward.

* * *

The boy had almost got to the threshold when it revealed its purpose. A set of sharp spikes burst out of the holes. They were taller than Link, so there was no getting past them. They also emitted a subtle electical buzzing noise, so this meant there was no squeezing around them.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!**

Link stood erect and froze.

It... it couldn't possibly be...

 **SCREEEEEEEEEECH!**

Link never wanted to hear that noise ever again. He was probably going to have nightmares of it. He may even have gotten flashbacks once his adventure was over every single time Aryll or Granny accidentally slid their knife and fork across their plate.

 **BBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFF!**

The bird flew straight up into the air, its wet, golden plumage swirling around like a Catherine wheel. Several black feathers shot off of its body as it spread its wings and piercingly screamed, dislodging a different shipwreck from a concrete branch. It crashed down the side of the fortress and into the water. Looking closely, his metal mask now had a crack in it from where Link had mashed him with the mallet.

It was on.

The final battle. The very last one, this time.

* * *

Immediately, the bird swooped at Link, scraping his claws against the floor. Sparks leaped into the air as it shot past, completely missing Link. Somehow, the boy needed to make it to the mask and break it with the Skull Hammer. It gave too much protection. Maybe its weak spot was underneath it, even.

The bird turned through the air and landed on the ground, its wings spread out.

"Hey!" called Link. "Come and get me, you pile of feathers! Early bird catches the worm!"

The bird stomped over towards him as he wielded the skull hammer. With a gasp of air, he raised his shining, golden beak into the air and thrust it downwards, its neck flexing like a snake on the attack as it did so.

 **SMASH!**

The bird's beak crashed into the floor. It strained and strained as it tried to withdraw it, but Link raised his hammer over his head and bought it down as hard as he could.

 **SMAAAAAAAAAAASH!**

Shards of metal went flying and the blow even made Link recoil. Now the bird's mask was covered in cracks, but it still wasn't off. The bird cawed and shot into the air, keeping its distance. Suddenly, it started solidifying black feathers on its back and throwing them like knives from a way away. At certain intervals, it would swoop down to drag its claws across the ground like a derailing train, but this was very slow and easy to run out of the way from.

" _I have an idea!"_

Link positioned himself so he was standing between the bird and Ganon's pirate ship. He was hoping that the bird would swoop at him, miss him and then crash straight into the pirate ship, knocking it off and killing two birds with one stone, almost literally. Then again... maybe Ganon was also a bird?

Link stayed dead still as the bird fired another set of knife feathers at him. As he guarded against them with his shield and promptly removed them, the bird came in for another skidding strike.

At the last moment, Link dodged out the way as the bird carried on. Unable to stop, it smashed into the pirate ship on the other side. The ship didn't fall off but the bird spreadeagled for a second, giving Link the time to sprint after it, leap off the edge and grab onto its golden feathers.

Immediately, he started to slide down its tail and off the edge but he dug his fingers in hard. The bird flew up again and, noticing him, thrashed wildly to dislodge the parasitic person hanging onto him for dear life.

Link began slowly climbing up the birds plumage to try and get to its back and smash its head in with his hammer. The bird took off from the fortress and flew over the dark sea. Link clung on as feathers came off left and right. The world was whirling, he was getting dizzy and wind was screaming in his ears, just like the bird.

 **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWK!**

With a scream of effort, Link grabbed the black feathers on the birds back and heaved himself on. The bird turned his head and began snapping with his sharp beak. The fortress was now becoming a speck in the distance.

Link's eyes widened as he saw a giant rock spire sticking up from the ocean in the distance. "Watch where you're flying, you fool!" he shouted at the bird as it swerved around to avoid it. It quickly learned to watch where it was flying began retreating towards the Forsaken Fortress. As it turned, Link saw a familiar vessel cutting through the water.

It was Tetra's ship... Full of his friends... and the prisoners... which included his sister.

" _Oh no!"_

By this point the bird had caught his gaze because he was now eyeing up the ship. Looking back at Link to see if he was going to try and stop him, he swooped down after it.

"Oh, no you don't!" Link continued to climb across the back of the bird and finally, he reached its head. The bird swooped over the ship, reaching his talons down and hitting the mast. The whole ship rocked on the waves. Right on cue, Link raised the Skull Hammer and smashed the beast in the face with it.

With a glass-shattering cry, the bird's mask broke off. Behind it hid a set of red, beady eyes and a golden… comb?

I guess calling it an 'overgrown turkey' was right, then.

The bird flew erratically through the air towards the fortress as Link furiously slashed at its comb. Yellow blood was spilling from it wildly before the bird finally shook Link off at the platform. He tumbled through the air, spinning uncontrollably, but he deployed his Deku Leaf and slowed his fall enough to land on his feet.

The bird crashed onto the floor, blood pouring from its comb. Link turned and circled his enemy as the monster bent down and twisted his beak into a twisted smile.

Suddenly, the two launched themselves at each other. Sword and beak collided as the two shouted in effort. The bird occasionally paused to fire a sharp feather but Link managed to block them with his shield. After a pause, Link aimed his sword a little higher up as the bird swooped in for another duel-

 **SLASH!**

Link paused in horror as he stabbed the bird's comb through. All was silent for a while, only being broken by the wind.

The bird finally broke the silence by wrenching himself free of Link's sword and trying to retreat. Link shot arrows at it to try and finish it off. He couldn't let it get away or it would just target the pirate ship again.

Suddenly, a ray of light shone at the bird directly. Then another, then another and one more for good measure. All the shrieking had obviously caught the attention of the guards and they had unintentionally trapped the bird in a cage of pure light. Not only did the lenses of its mask protect its eyes from attacks, but also from bright lights. Light always triumphs over darkness, even when the light is controlled by darkness.

The bird cawed one last cracking shriek before it went limp and fell back towards the platform.

"Uh-oh!" gasped Link as he ran out of the way of the falling bird. It finally landed on the floor, disappearing in an explosion of golden feathers. When all of them settled like golden snow, all that remained of the bird was all of its golden plumage and a red eye lens.

At last, the barbarous bird was gone for good. Link had seen it go with his own eyes. Just in case, he picked up a few of of the golden feathers so he could show them to Aryll and Granny as proof of avengement. It would surely remove all worries that the thing would come back.

Just as he finished putting them into his spoils bag, there was a grating noise from the corner. When he looked to investigate, the spikes blocking his path were all gone.

Link was free to go ahead.

As if in a trance, the boy had walked up the cold stone path and was standing outside Ganon's lair. As stated beforehand, it was half a shipwreck. Link could feel himself shaking from fear, so he took out the Master Sword for a boost in confidence.

 _"I have the Master Sword! The one sword that can defeat Ganon! I am ready for this!"_ he recited in his head. The boy looked down at the ocean below. In the dock, he could see the little red spot that was the King of Red Lions. "Don't worry, sir. I'm safe. Forgive yourself." he whispered.

He looked at the door that led into Ganon's lair. Red paint in the shape of an eye shedding a single tear was slashed onto the front and a real skull held the ring that opened the door. The presumable trophy of a past warrior.

Finally swallowing his fear, Link grabbed the latch and began to open the door.

 **Rat-a-tat-tat!**

No, reader, that wasn't Link knocking on the door to see if anyone was in, though his politeness nearly made him do that. His hands were still shaking as he opened the door.

* * *

A blood red carpet sprawled before him on the dusty floor. Ship parts were cluttered all over the sidelines like discarded trophies. Tatty curtains hung over the windows, red dots decorating them. The last detail in the room was a lengthy refectory table lined by wooden chairs and topped with sharp knives and forks, plates, glasses and trays.

A man stood straight with his chest puffed out, gazing out the open-air window, a golden face on the back of his robe staring at the boy insanely. He seemed very large. Not just tall, but hulking as well. His bulky robe covered most of his hair, leaving only a small bit of ginger poking out of the top. His hands were hidden from sight up his sleeves but it was safe to assume that they alone were bigger than Link.

 _"Maybe… Maybe that robe is making him look bigger than he is."_ thought Link hopefully. The two silver and purple Bokoblin bodyguards that stood camouflaged at his side swivelled, grunting in alertness and pointing their weapons to him, which were metal staffs with electrical currents swarming at the swollen tips. The man waved them out of combat.

" **It has been a while, boy.** "

Link's insides turned to ice at the low, collected voice that jeered into his ears. He expected some gruff, gravely voice but what he got sounded deep but posh at the same time. It was like he was the king of a castle. Almost like if the King of Red Lions had an evil doppelganger. "It takes strength to overpower Phantom Ganon AND the Helmaroc King consecutively. I'll give you that."

The man's legitimate compliment knotted the boy's stomach. Why was he affable? Why was he not... bloodthirsty and vicious like Link had pictured him during his very brief glimpse in the jaws of the killer bird?

He'd tell you why, because Ganon was clearly trying to lower his guard so he could turn, swoop in and beat him into submission. He pulled the Master Sword into the light. Instead of the ever-so-satisfying noise that Ganon had heard in his last encounter with the blade in the forgotten pages of time, it scraped a bit as it dragged itself out.

"You remember what you did to my sister?" Link rhetorically asked. Ganon's bodyguards did not interfere, nor did they look like they were going to. "Sure you do. But do you remember this, Ganon?"

Upon hearing the sound, the man gave a chuckle that steadily grew heartier, turning to face him.

The man's skin was... a strange, ogre-like shade of green. Like the skin of a cucumber. Like no shade of skin the boy had ever seen. Both his hair and beard were a ferocious orange. It looked like they were made of a roaring fire. Ganon looked like he could have used some beauty sleep as of late. His eyes were sunken in and bloodshot and his face was wrinkled as if he had overstudied. His bearing was professional and formal, but Link was most intimidated by his yellow, cheetah-like eyes and his slasher mouth... They looked like they were about to float off from his face at any moment. His eyes held no pity... yet they were pitiful.

"Oh, I know that! I know it very well... but I don't know those sounds... Where's the loud buzzing noise it should have? Where's its... shine?"

Link wasn't in a mood for whatever tactics these were. He swung his sword in a cross shape for an "en garde" battle pose. In response, the Bokoblins began a guttural snarl, jabbing their weapons in his direction, electricity crackling at the ends which sounded like a fly stuck in a zap trap.

"And my name is **not** Ganon. I discarded that name an age ago. My name is **GANONDORF**."

Link never thought someone revealing their name to be longer than he thought would intimidate him. Never say never... What Ganondorf said made him flinch back, but he briskly returned to his fighting stance, not wanting Ganondorf to know he was scared of him. The warlock took a large, leather sheath from the table near the window and made a heavy step forwards, his guards doing the same thing.

"Do you know why, when you drew that sword, all the monsters in that castle started to stir?" he asked. He stopped moving. He took the curved sword in the sheath and pulled it into his hand. Link shook his head, but he suddenly began mentally questioning how Ganondorf knew that. "You're ignorant of what that means? Let us find out!"

It all happened fast enough so Link just had time to leap defensively. The man and both his guards jumped and glided through the air towards him, weapons drawn and ready to strike him down. However, Ganondorf abruptly stopped, leaving the two Bokoblins to duel Link alone.

" **YARGH!** "

The two did a ton of work right from the very beginning because of their high status and high voltage weapons. Link had to make sure he didn't block their attacks by hitting the sides of their weapons otherwise he'd get shocked through the metal of his own sword. They spun their staffs as they buzzed like annoying flies. Of course, they were miles more dangerous, so... killer bees?

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAT! BRRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZMMMMM! SSZZSSZSZSZSSSSSSSZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!**

Ganondorf did nothing but stay as still as a statue, watching the Bokoblins do the heavy lifting. He didn't move a muscle, even when Link saw an opening and rammed the Master Sword through one of their dark hearts before lobbing it over his head towards Ganondorf. Even then, the sorcerer just bisected it in one swift movement to stop it hitting him. He grinned, impressed, revealing his enormous white teeth.

Still, there was the other one to go. This time, Ganondorf started making a move towards him, twirling his blade around with agile movements of his thick fingers. At this point, Link had maneuvered neatly around the other guard, taking its weapon and frying the monster with it. Ganondorf still unflinchingly approached and was getting closer by the second so, just before he was in range, the boy did a sweeping kick and knocked the Bokoblin into the air and then leaped. The resulting slash from Ganondorf took his own guard's life instead of the boy's.

"Not bad." he conceded, "Not bad at all. Your training has come a long way, boy." Then, he himself took on his adversary, hooking his left hand behind his back as if fencing and slashing and jabbing with his other. Link started to fight back but the first time their blades met told him something was off.

He was almost overpowered by every strike. No matter if their swords clashed or if the boy's shield was struck, he was almost sent off his feet and onto the floor.

 **CLANG! SHING! WHOOSH! CRAAASH!**

And all of this was with one of Ganondorf's arms wrapped behind him. Though it did have an advantage in that he could attack freely without risking slashing his own arm off, its main weakness was that he couldn't use two hands and he was sacrificing power. Even when Link placed his shield on his back and used both hands, he ended up being thrown across the long table and onto the floor by a particularly large swing. Luckily, he was unharmed for now.

"Do you get it, yet?" Ganondorf's very deep bass voice called to the boy as he dizzily righted himself, "Why am I overpowering you so easily? That sword was the bane of my existence!"

Link didn't respond. He began to run around the left side of the table towards Ganondorf once again.

The corners of the wizards mouth rose and his eyes narrowed, glowing crimson in the process. He outstretched his hand and pointed it to Link. The boy felt himself be forced backwards, but he skidded to a halt and stayed upright. Still, he ran at the man, who used the same power on a chair that lay at the table, tossing it at the assailant as if it weighed nothing. It struck, briefly swaying the boy back but when another chair was thrown, the Master Sword cut it in half with ease.

Next, instead of throwing a chair, Ganondorf used his Telekinesis to lift a collage of trays, plates, knives and forks from the table and toss them. A tray slapped Link across the face and a plate did the same to his stomach. Luckily, all the knives and forks did was get stuck between his tunic and belt and tangle in his hair, respectively. Link continued running, pouncing into the air with his sword pointed down like a spear fisherman spotting a massive catch. Ganondorf lifted another chair between himself and Link at full tilt and the Master Sword burst through it, but it couldn't quite reach the man due to its blockage.

"Are you as ignorant as your King?" blustered the man, straining to keep the chair in place, "That sword is the blade incarnate of a key... **THE MOST WRETCHED KEY THAT HAS KEPT A SEAL ON ME AND MY MAGIC INTACT FOR YEARS AND YEARS**!" The sudden change in volume nearly powered Link to burst through the chair, but Ganondorf found his calmness as quickly as he'd lost it. "By pulling that sword... the seal is now broken!"

All went deathly, thunderously silent. Link's breathing accelerated and he tremulously shook his head in denial. "No... No. You... You are lying..." His voice began trembling too. Ganondorf stepped back, releasing his invisible grip on the chair and letting Link rip his sword from it.

"Is that so?" he said casually, "Prove it! In fact, just look at it! The blade is dull, colourless even! Its wings are folded in! The crystal on the front isn't glowing! What you hold has the same value as a can opener!"

"You're **WROOOOOOOOOONG!** " Link screamed and charged, seeing that Ganondorf's guard had dropped. He twirled it in his hand and then slashed overhead as hard as he could. He was just inches away...

 **KERRANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!**

...

...

...

In moments, the hit had drained all his energy.

Not Ganondorf's.

Link's.

It was like he had struck some kind of indestructible metal. Link knelt before him wearily, eyes closed, mouth shivering and chattering. Ganondorf once again extended his fingers but rather than tossing the boy across the room, white hot lightning shot from his fingertips. He instantly felt himself frying and he couldn't move his mouth to scream at all. The pain was horrendous. He was sure that he'd be stripped to a skeleton in moments until Ganondorf stopped...

...to throw him across the room with Telekinesis where he landed hard against the wall and then on his arm. He lay dazed and confused, his aching cheek hurting even more as it was pressed against the floor. Within seconds, Ganondorf was towering over him again, pointing his sword down at the boy, who was barely registering the pointy threat being raised into the air.

"You have humoured me tonight." Ganondorf said harshly, "but I'm afraid you can't get anything done with what you hold there. Take it back down there and tell it to the pathetic fools that crafted this toy of yours!"

Ganondorf winded up for the killing strike. Link shut his eyes, preparing for the inevitable. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. There was a sword being swung at him. Even if he could move, the Master Sword wasn't working for some reason. If it was any consolation... the bird was gone... Aryll was safe... There was just a loud bang from the window... Ganondorf had stopped and turned in annoyance... Someone was...

Wait... There was a shadowed, black figure standing in the window, pointing something at Ganondorf. The man now had a smoking, wet spot on his back...

The figure landed with a clack on the floor, being lit by a lantern.

It was...

Tetra.

 **TETRA WAS BACK.**

"T-T...Tetra?" Link wheezed. With a quick reassuring grin to her friend, the girl leaped at Ganondorf, shooting her pistol at once again. The shot didn't do any harm, but it made Ganondorf drop his weapon so he reached for the closest thing to use... and started swatting at Tetra with a rolled up map as if she was a fly.

"Link! Get up!" Tetra shouted over the din of Ganondorf's shouting, "Get- **GLURK!** "

Link tried to stand but he felt like he'd been turned to stone. Through his blurring eyesight, he saw that Ganondorf had reached out and grabbed her by the throat like one would a panicking bird. The pirate was choking and scratching at the massive hand that bound her.

"Let... go of me!" Tetra wheezed, clawing desperately and kicking as hard as she could. Her voice became more crackly as the vice on her windpipe tightened.

Tears welled in Link's eyes and he let a single sob escape. "Please... let go of her..."

"You **FILTHY GREEN RAT!** " Ganondorf turned to him, quickly blasting him with another round of lightning. Unable to take the pain any more, they boy flopped on the brink of fainting.

"Now as for you..." The man raised his other hand, fingers twitching... He stopped when the back of it started glowing golden and made a small, metallic sound. "What?"

Though Link's sight was clouded, he could make out a faint shape on the back of Ganondorf's hand. A triangle... made of three triangles specifically placed together... He had seen the same shape throughout the castle beneath the waves but here, the topmost triangle had the biggest sheen.

"My Triforce... is resonating..." He stared at Tetra, then his hand and then her again.

He smiled gleefully and sharply, exposing more sharp fangs. "At last. We meet again... **PRINCESS ZELDA...** "

"What... are you talking about?" Tetra rasped dryly, "I don't know no Zelda!"

"Playing dumb will be of no aid to you." he said. Link's shaking mind rumbled back to Sturgeon's lesson... He had taught him about Princess Zelda but she was apparently a benevolent, delicate princess... Not a tomboy who ran a crew of pirates!

The man reached for Tetra's triangular, golden necklace with his other hand, examining it and turning it in his fingers. "Tell me... if you aren't Princess Zelda, then what is this doing around your neck?"

Tetra creaked her mouth open to respond, but a sudden gust of wind and a black shadow whizzing past interrupted her. Ganondorf turned to look. Link had gone.

"What sorcery is _this_?" The man loosened his grip in confusion and, in another whip of wind, Tetra vanished from his grasp. "What the-?!"

Ganondorf let his arms fall and, in rage, he stomped over to the window.

As soon as he could move again, Link looked upwards. He was flying through the air in the talons of a Rito. This was the day he found out that the Rito could morph their feet into hawk-like talons.

The face of the Rito carrying him was very familiar. When Link got used to the adrenaline of flying, he noticed it was Quill, the unstoppable mailman.

"Ssssshhhh. Don't worry. You're safe." he said quickly but calmly, "Everything is going to be just fine. Just don't look back. Don't look back."

Now, there's nothing more guaranteed to make a child look somewhere than to try and tell them not to. Link immediately looked back at Ganondorf in the window of the broken pirate ship. His eyes burned with fury and he glared harshly at the fleeing Rito.

He held his hand up in the air and took a deep breath.

"Acerba funera ascriberet!" he bellowed. A bolt of green magic shot out of his fingertips and zoomed past Quill. The Rito ahead of him was almost struck, but he weaved out of the way just in time.

"The killing curse..." mused Quill. He sucked in a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Valoo! Autem!"

On his mark, Valoo, the beautiful dragon of the roost rose up to face Ganondorf, his snake-like neck coming to a stop just at the window.

"No!" shouted the warlock. His bellows echoed through the still ocean. "No, **no** , **NO!** "

In the quickest draw ever, the dragon had blasted burning blue breath onto the boat. It immediately went up in electric blue flames as Ganondorf roared, which Valoo paid no attention to. He looped around the tower, then caught up with the Rito and their passengers. All the while, the shattered pirate ship broke from its perch and bounced down its pillar, crashing onto one of the pathways of the Forsaken Fortress.

Link, and only Link, watched the flames on the wreckage die out slowly. He tried to say something, maybe a word of thanks to his friends, but he was still partially paralysed... and the day's work was fast catching up... Before he could say anything, he was out like a light.

* * *

"Ah, so you stir?" came a very warm, Spanish accented voice ahead of Link. Who on earth was this, now?

The boy opened his eyes and looked around himself. The round ringed wall of the Tower of the Gods surrounded him. He could feel the familiar deck of the King of Red Lions below him.

"Link, everything is OK." came another familiar voice. "Tetra is right in front of you and she is breathing. We checked."

Link quickly jolted up. Tetra lay on the deck against the figurehead of the King, still passed out. He inspected her neck. It was swollen and red but he could hear her breathing. She was hurt but alive.

Link then paid attention to two figures on either edge of his boat. At first, his just-woken-up brain had thought they were statues but on closer inspection they were Rito. One stood with his arms crossed and the other… Link didn't recognise at all.

"Who are you?" asked Link, looking at the new Rito.

"Ah, see, Quill! I told you someone wouldn't recognise me now!" he chuckled, aiming his finger at Quill as if it were a pistol.

Link instantly recognised the voice.

" **KOMALI?** ""

"Yep! It's me! I took on Dragon Roost and got my wings at long last! It seems they came in quite handy!" boasted the Prince. Like a bodybuilder showing off his muscles, the boy curled his wing and then unfolded it.

Link saw the King gazing upwards out of the corner of his eyes. He followed his look and saw Valoo, perching on the giant wall surrounding the tower like a pigeon on a telephone pole.

"Valoo! You arrived not a moment too soon! We are very grateful for your assistance!"

The great Valoo said something in Hylian and shook his head.

"I am aware of that. This is why I directed you over here. It was important to get these two kids as far away from Ganon as possible."

Valoo said something else in Hylian, his deep voice rippling the water.

"I thank you for that. I hope I can become as useful as you some day."

The dragon nodded and began to flap up into the air. He flew back off to Dragon Roost.

"Oh, while I have an opportunity, Link, I have to tell you..." Komali started, "The pirates have absolute orders to keep your sister in their protection until Ganon is extinguished so she can't be taken again."

Link nodded in understanding, also very relieved.

"Link, I hope you can find the time to come back to Dragon Roost." Quill mentioned, "Medli speaks very highly of you. Speaking of which, we need to get back to the Pajarera, ahora mismo." He finished his sentence very fast and in Spanish, as he appeared to be in quite a rush. Link reached for the Wind Waker.

"I'll help you out with that!" He pointed it in the direction Valoo went.

 **WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!**

The wind blew forwards with a cheer.

"Oh… thank you!" said Quill as he took off and flew into the air. He and Komali shot off into the distance until they became as small as the distant stars.

Link was alone.

With the King of Red Lions.

With Tetra.

In the floating courtyard of the Tower of the Gods.


	21. Gone With The Wind

"Link," started the King of Red Lions. The boy jumped. He was concerned about Tetra, so he had not been expecting the King to join in. "Your sister is safe. They were able to cram all the prisoners onto their ship and they are in the process of returning them all home."

Link breathed a sigh of relief but one thing was buzzing around him like a fly. "One thing, sir?"

The King tilted his head. He was listening. "Yes, my boy?"

"Is Ganondorf… dead?"

"Unfortunately not." replied the King immediately. Link didn't even wince. He had seen it coming.

"Ganon can only be destroyed with the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword. And, pardon the change of subject, but what did you just call him?" stuttered the boat, cutting himself off.

"When I was up in there, he said his name **wasn't** Ganon and that it was actually Ganondorf."

The King's eyes widened. "Oh, no."

"What?"

"Ganon was the name of the monster that Ganondorf would sometimes transform into. As Ganon, he is more powerful but mindless. As Ganondorf, he is **VERY** cunning. We need to seek safety immediately. We must return to the land beneath the waves."

Link's ears pricked up. "What do we need to go back there for?" he asked the boat. He simply turned his head towards the area in the dead center of the tower walls and the beam of light that took them down before reappeared.

"It is time for you to learn what happened… all these years ago."

 _"Yes! Finally!"_ thought the boy. He had been waiting for this moment. Typically, a seed of doubt grew in his head. "Are you sure he won't find us down here?" asked the boy. The boat turned his head around.

"Ganondorf may know of Hyrule, but he has no way of accessing it." assured the King. "The chamber you found the Master Sword in is completely unknown to him as well. You have to trust me, my boy."

Link looked at the ring of light glimmering at the water and then at the King's hopeful face.

"OK, sir… I trust you. Let's go." he said.

The boat sighed in relief before he cruised forwards, into the ring. Once again, the two sank beneath the white horses.

* * *

Tetra didn't stir until the boat landed with a gentle plop in the pond outside the mysterious castle. Immediately, she rubbed her head after having been laying on the jagged neck of the figurehead.

"Oooowww… my head! What just happened?" Tetra began to open her eyes.

"We're safe here." replied Link as he stepped out of the boat and into the pond. It was just about shallow enough to not start flooding his boots. He looked back at Tetra, whose eyes were now wide with wonder. Her jaw had dropped open like a totem pole figure.

"What? What island is this? Why does the sky look so weird?" she rasped. She still couldn't speak properly due to her prior constriction around the neck.

"This isn't an island. The King here will tell you, right, sir?" suggested Link to the King of Red Lions.

...

...

...

The King's head was straight. His yellow eyes were blank. No pupils inhabited them.

"Oh, he's nodded off. Great(!)" groaned Link as Tetra got off the boat. Before he could try and wake him, something started vibrating and glowing red at Link's neck.

The Pirate's Charm.

"W-what's going on?" mused Tetra, looking at the bright red rock.

"Link..." came a voice from the stone. Link furrowed his brow and looked at his boat. Still snoozing, his mouth was stationary. It can't have been him yet the voice sounded completely alike.

"Wait a second, who do you think you are?" shouted Tetra, stomping through the water to the Pirate's Charm before harshly grabbing it, yanking a startled Link towards her too. "Link and I are the only ones who can speak through this stone! How dare you use what's not yours?!"

The voice continued as if it couldn't hear her. "You must come back to the room where you retrieved the Master Sword. There, you shall learn everything you need to learn."

The stone powered off, leaving the two children staring in silence at it.

"How was he using my stone?" whispered Tetra. Link gazed over at the floating boat, still fast asleep.

"I don't know. I do know a little about this place. It's a kingdom under the sea and… wait." faltered Link, realising too late that Tetra had been unconscious when they descended and would think he had screw loose. Tetra folded her arms and glared at him.

"Do I look like I was born yesterday? Tell me the truth! Where are we?" Tetra said, sounding back to normal in seconds. She seized him by the tunic and stared closely at his eyes.

"I am telling you the truth, I swear! It may seem weird, but..."

Tetra looked up at the swirling water domed off from her. A passing figure in the depths above made her release Link and get a slight blush from embarrassment. "I guess you're right. Sorry." she sighed.

"That's fine. It does sound ridiculous." Link looked at the massive castle that stood in front of him.

"How did you escape from Ganon? How did **I** escape from Ganon?" gasped the pirate, feeling around her neck and wincing from the pain. Link began thinking for a simple way to put it.

"Let's just say that the last time I was airlifted out of that place by a bird didn't go well. This time it saved our lives."

Tetra almost fell backwards into the water. " **WHAT? WE WERE SAVED BY THAT BIRD?** "

"Nope. That one is long gone. It was that Rito postman you found at Greatfish and their prince."

Tetra felt around her neck. She felt like this was all a dream. Nope. Her windpipe was still throbbing.

"Come on, let's go. The castle." said Link, wading through the water. Tetra seemed surprised by this abrupt change of subjects but she followed him through the grand entrance of the castle.

* * *

"Wow..." mouthed Tetra as the two emerged in the grand hall of the castle. No monsters were to be seen. Several pillars had collapsed from age since Link had been there but that was about it.

As Link and his friend walked over to the secret church, Tetra told him about what he had missed when they took the girls back home.

"You were right! When we got to the flat bit just before the dock, a giant, black phantom guy showed up and started threatening the kids! Gonzo had us all go back to the boat and he fought it off! He couldn't have done it without your tennis trick, so he said!"

"Oh… thank you. I'm glad I fought him before you so I could find the strategy to beating him!"

"I actually wanted to get Nudge to help bust open the cells, but he was, say it with me," started Tetra.

" **in the shower**." they both finished simultaneously.

"Ah, here we are! This is the secret entrance to the Master Sword!" trilled Link, pointing to the staircase that led underground. The statue sat behind it. He thought he would have to move it again.

"Not very secret, is it?" snorted Tetra with a laugh.

"Well, that statue is usually over the top of the hole. If the trigger was disabled from the inside, it would stay safe from a whole invasion of Darknuts!"

"What?"

"Oh, canine knights in armour. I don't know what they have to do with nuts, but whatever. Let's go in."

* * *

The children advanced down the steps into the church. It seemed almost the same as last time. The giant statues were connecting their swords, Stained glass windows of various people and creatures shone down upon the dais in the middle of the room. Dark blue water surrounded the pedestal, rippling quietly.

One thing was different, though.

A large man stood at the dais, facing the windows. He wore red robes and a giant, white collar covered most of his head. He wore white trousers and brown boots.

"Are you him?" shouted Tetra at the man. He remained motionless. "Are you the one that used my stone without permission?"

The man's robe blew upwards slightly as if there was wind indoors.

" **You are Tetra, correct?** "

Tetra jumped upon hearing the man say her name. "How did you know that? And how were you using my stone?"

"I did not use yours… I used this." said the man. He had a deep, gentle voice. Link could clearly recognise it from somewhere but he couldn't put his finger on it. The man removed something from around his neck. It was a necklace. Not like the one Link was wearing, but it was… a little wooden boat figurine on the end of a string. The figurine was red and its figurehead had a beard and a yellow nose, just like-

"Wait, are you-" stuttered Link loudly. He almost fell over. The man began to turn around.

He was an old man with snow-white hair, counting his beard and eyebrows. His face was slightly squared and he wore a golden crown. He was also slightly rotund. He looked like if Santa became a monarch.

"Ah, so you have figured it out. I see." said the man. "Link… I am the true identity of the King of Red Lions."

Even though Link saw it coming, this information still made him trip a little. It hit him like a steam train...

The man turned to Tetra. "Tetra… do you know about the ancient Gossip Stones?"

"Yes, I do. According to my mother, they were these big rocks with faces on. If you wore a mask of some sort, you could talk with them. Is that correct?" answered the pirate. The man nodded with a smile.

"That stone you have is a fragment of the Gossip Stones. The Gossip Stones were made by the king of an old, forgotten land. The King of Hyrule." The man took a deep breath. " **I am King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.** "

There was stunned silence from the children for a while.

"Can I call you Tim?" joked Link with a smile. The King did a sniffing laugh at his joke.

"People from Outset seem great at jokes!" laughed the King. Regaining his seriousness by clearing his throat, he pointed all around the room. "The kingdom that you stand in now is called Hyrule… A kingdom which no longer exists."

Link and Tetra felt an unnatural cold chill pass them.

"'No longer exists'? We're standing in it right now! How does it not exist?" Tetra said, absolutely confused. King Daphnes shook his head.

"It exists to me, to you two, to Ganondorf, but to everyone else… they remain unaware of it. Now Link, I apologise for my actions. I felt that as long as the Master Sword retained its power, I thought it best to keep my full identity hidden away." He turned back and then looked to Link, nodding his head. "Forgive me."

Link tried to pursue his next objective. "What am I meant to do now?"

"I will get to that in good time. Right in this very meeting. First, I have some explaining to do..."

* * *

The children gathered around the man as he materialised a thick book out of thin air. He flipped it open and began reading out loud.

"This has not been the first time the Kingdom of Hyrule has fallen into a terrible fate." he started. He began reading. "Decades before me, a man called Ganondorf tricked a young boy into opening a gate to a realm… This realm is called the Sacred Realm. The reason he wanted to get into the Sacred Realm was because it housed the Triforce. He was able to seize the Triforce of Power while the boy slept in stasis until age 16. Seven years. After those seven years passed, he awoke to much destruction in the town outside."

Link and Tetra exchanged glances.

"Several residents lost their lives. Those residing in the castle as well. Now a teenager, the lad in green collected medallions from several sages to confront Ganondorf."

The two leaned in closer. This was getting interesting! It was so interesting that I just went and made popcorn.

"He won… but he didn't succeed." read the King gravely. The kids flinched in confusion, giving each other looks of skepticism.

"He dealt the finishing blow to Ganon, his monstrous form, and only managed to seal him in the sacred realm for a time. At any time, this seal could give away." he finished reading. "And it has."

With that, the King slammed the book shut, causing it to vanish into smoke.

"Throughout his quest, the warrior was secretly accompanied by the princess. Princess Zelda."

"Princess Zelda? That's who the nutcase at the top of the Forsaken Fortress thought I was! Who is she?" interrupted Tetra. The King looked straight at her.

"Well, he wasn't wrong. Child, come here. I'm going to need to borrow that necklace of yours." rumbled the King. Tetra looked at her necklace and then at him. As if under a spell, the girl wobbled up onto the altar, taking her necklace off and placing it into his hands.

"You see this triangle on the end of the string?" asked the King rhetorically. Tetra nodded her head. "Did your mother tell you to never let it leave your person and protect it with your life?" Tetra nodded again. "Well, that is because this is a shard of the Triforce. The Triforce of Wisdom, to be exact."

Tetra's jaw dropped. "Wait, Ganondorf did sense my 'Triforce' with his own... Does that mean-"

"I shall show you."

The King began gathering triangular energy in his left hand. When it finished shining, a golden triangle floated in the air. It had a small, triangular spot missing at the bottom. Just the right size to fit…

Tetra's necklace!

"These shall now join together! It is time for me to teach you the fate into which you were born, the very reason you live."

The two triangles danced towards each other in a spin. Tetra and Link watched in amazement as the two perfectly slotted into place. The Triforce started to glow again, releasing ray after ray of light into the air. They danced like party streamers, one of them hitting Link right in the eyes.

"Ow!"

He closed his eyes to recover and when he opened them again, sparks danced in his eyes and Tetra was nowhere to be seen.

In her place stood… a different girl in a pink, silky dress. She wore white gloves and had golden locks. Her skin tone was a lot lighter than Tetra's.

"My… fate...?" squeaked the girl. Her voice was a LOT higher and more delicate than Tetra's.

"As I said, your hidden identity is Princess Zelda." said the King.

"But… I am a pirate. How can I be a Princess?" said… Zelda... faintly.

"Do not fear, for confusion is perfectly normal. It is not every day you become an entirely different person."

Link looked at his (new?) friend in sympathy. Of course. She had just been wrenched away from her old self. This was normal behaviour. The look he had on his face illustrated this to her.

"My boy." said the King, turning to him. Link locked eyes with him.

"I apologise. This is not planned, but we have to resort to desperate measures. We need to restore the Master Sword to its former self."

Link felt a tiny bit of relief. There must have been some way to fix the Master Sword. "All right. I can help you. What do we do?" asked the boy, desperation creeping into his vocal chords.

"Firstly, Zelda… I must ask you to stay here in hiding for a while. We can't let Ganondorf find you, now that he knows who you are."

Tet-

um…

Zelda, yes, Zelda began to speak, but she immediately stopped. Link flinched a little. Tetra would never do that. Not even if she was being poked to the plank with red hot pokers.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," reassured the King, "There's a supply of food down here, as well as a bathroom. The quarters are just to the right."

"I have an idea!" said Link with a loud voice. "The princess could come with us!"

The King frowned and shook his head. "I saw her in the fortress. She is a very skilled fighter. That was when she was Tetra, however. As Zelda, she is more of… a thinker. A planner."

"He's right. I don't feel agile right now." added Zelda.

"But Ganondorf still knows about this place. Didn't he escape from here?" asked Link. The King looked over at the entrance.

"He may be aware of Hyrule, but this chamber is a secret from him. Your friend is perfectly safe."

Zelda began to think. She began to think and think and think. Eventually, she composed herself.

"All right. I believe you." she said. The King put a hand on her shoulder like a father would, smiling encouragingly.

"Thank you."

He stepped back and cleared his throat.

"I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes. Link, I'll see you back at the boat."

Link was about to say something to the King but when he prepared himself, he blinked and the King was nowhere to be seen. He had gone with the wind.

"Where did he go?" asked Link in confusion. Zelda stared up at the staircase. Link followed her gaze. The King stood at the end of the first set of stairs and then dematerialised into wind which blew up into the main room of the castle.

Link rubbed his eyes again. What even was the King? An actual person, a manifestation of wind or a ghost of some kind?

Suddenly, he felt a gentle, silky touch on his arm. He turned around and there was the Princess, white as a sheet and slowly taking his arm. Mascara was running down her face due to tears.

"Zelda? What's wrong?"

Zelda forced out a response. "I'm... lost. I thought I was a pirate! Now I don't know who I am!"

Link quickly took her other hand without processing it. "Hey. You're still a toughie in my books. You're younger than nearly all of your crew, yet... they respect and follow your every order, you know that? I'm so glad I had the chance to meet you!"

"I just… don't feel like Tetra any more. I feel like a completely different person. I'm just… kind of shaken."

A crackle of alarm shot through Link.

If your crew hadn't nailed that bird in the face with a rock, Ganondorf would have got hold of you before I could have prepared myself to face him! Your crew came through for me, you came through for me, next time you see them, can you give them my thanks?"

He was right. Zelda seemed very surprised.

"You're right! I never- Link! Watch out!"

The sound of clicking claws and hissing clattered across the room towards them. Link knew immediately what it was.

A Bokoblin.

With no words, he put his hand on the hilt of the Master Sword and closed his eyes. When he sensed the monster getting close, he quickly turned and slashed with all his might. The monster flew through the air and disappeared upon contact with the wall, leaving its butterfly pendant behind.

"Must have missed one earlier..." mused Link. He picked up the pendant of the monster and handed it to Zelda. "Here. Keep this. A quick memento."

Zelda smiled, but she still looked terrified for him. Link felt terrible.

"I'm sorry..." he said gently. "I have to go now. See you… later, OK?"

Zelda stayed silent for a moment. "See you in a bit. Good luck with the Master Sword."

"Next time you see it, it will glow with the power to repel evil!" declared Link. Trying not to look back, he headed upstairs and out of the room.

As he exited the room, the statue of the man in green rumbled back over the entrance.

Zelda wasn't getting out any time soon.

" _I'll get you back to your normal life,"_ thought Link. _"I know it."_


	22. A Golden Harp

Link walked outside the castle, unable to tear his eyes away from the entrance.

"Link." said the King in front of him. Link jumped a little. "About the Master Sword..."

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you about what gave it the power to repel evil."

Link sat on the deck. "All right, I'm listening."

The King of Red Lions turned away and came back with a large book in his mouth. He dropped it onto the deck. "Can you open that to page 178 for me?" he asked. "I don't have any hands in this form."

Link picked up the book and skimmed through it. It was a hand drawn book with a formal looking style of handwriting and inky illustrations. As he flipped, he saw a story that was familiar to him. The one that had been taught to him by Sturgeon... he was really wishing he hadn't slept through most of it.

"Aha! Here we are!" announced Link as he turned the book around for the King.

"After the incarnation of evil was sealed away, the power to repel evil started to… falter." read the King. Link leaned forward in interest. "After years of research, we found out that awakening two sages to pray to the ones above, the Goddess of the Earth and the God of the Wind, would power the Master Sword as long as their praying needs are fulfilled."

With that, the book vanished into the wind, which blew off into the distance.

"If the Master Sword no longer has its power, then I fear that something has stopped the sages from praying to the gods. We must go and find out what that is."

"All right. Where are these temples?" asked Link. The King looked around the area.

"They are further on beyond this point. Unfortunately, I sense that there is a dark barrier in the area, which blocks them off."

Link's face fell.

" **BUT!** " said the King, "there are ways into the temples from the mountaintops at the surface. You know them as islands."

"We talked about this a bit earlier... Please may we discuss it further now?"

"Yes, those are your islands above the sea. They are really mountain villages."

"Please, explain more! How did this happen?"

"I shall tell you once we reach the surface. If we stay here any longer, we'll risk Ganondorf finding us." said the King. He had a stern, serious expression as he said this. It told Link that this was definitely not a dodged question.

"All right." said Link as he climbed aboard and cruised into the golden light. In an instant, they were swept off into the air.

* * *

Before they hit the water above, Link thought about the King and Red Lions and his sleeping habits.

"Um… Sire?" Link had heard that word was a respectful form of address for someone of a high social status, like a King.

"Yes, my boy?"

"That time at Windfall and… just recently, were you really asleep or were you just down here? You know, as the King of Hyrule?"

"You are fast figuring things out. I can only access one body at a time. Either one or the other. When I was sleeping, I was making appropriate preparations down here."

Before Link could respond to that, they splashed through the water and rose up to the Tower of the Gods. Akin to the previous ascent, the mountain that was in Hyrule perfectly segued into a small island that stuck out above the rippling waters.

"Now we're above the surface, why are all these islands actually mountains?"

The King began focusing hard on the top of the Tower of the Gods. "Well, you see… The reason Hyrule is trapped underwater is because… the gods flooded it."

Link sat down to listen again.

"When the Incarnation of Evil broke free of his seal, he began laying siege to Hyrule once again. Since the Hero of Time had returned to his childhood to relive the seven years that he missed, he was unable to come back and defend the land. As a result, the people prayed to the golden power. The gods and goddesses responded by covering Hyrule in a forcefield and surrounding the area in salty rain. Flooding the whole kingdom up front would have satisfied the evil one's wish for the destruction of the land, so that is why it is still down here. They chose a select few people to make their way up to the mountaintops and start a new civilisation."

Link felt dizzy. He was unable to respond to all that. He had a killer story to tell everyone but also… his whole life had been flipped upside down. It was all a lie. He never lived by the sea... He lived in the sky. Did that mean he was a mountaineer?

 **ZZZZZT!**

A sudden buzz caught Link's attention. The golden, glowing ring vanished in a buzz of electricity.

"Sire, what was that? What just happened to the portal?" said the boy, concern seeping into his voice.

The King lowered his head... This did not seem like a plan to him.

"I'm… sorry, lad." he mumbled.

"What? What for?"

"Well… the portal to Hyrule has ran out of energy. You will no longer be able to return to Hyrule or talk with Princess Zelda for a long time."

"But-" protested Link.

"Now, now, you can still open the portal back up. First, you have to prove yourself to the gods once more. This time, you must show that your heart is truly pure. You must show power, wisdom and courage. Only then will the portal be able to reopen. Our next two missions shall give ample opportunity to show all three of those. In the meantime, the portal disappearing may be a good thing. Ganondorf will not know that we've been down there, nor will he be able to get down there himself."

"But... what can I do to get it back? I'm guessing that bell up in the Tower of the Gods only works once."

"As I said, if the Master Sword has lost its power and that must mean that the sages in their respective temples have stopped praying. We need to pay them a visit..." The King turned away and came back with a map. "...to see what's happened to them. This sea chart shows you the entrances to the temples as they are up here."

Link unfolded the map and scanned the grid. One of the marked islands was right next to his home, Outset. The other was right up north above Windfall.

"Where do you wish to go first, my boy?" asked the King. He studied the boy's expression, knowing exactly which one he'd choose first.

"What about here?" Link predictably pointed to the square next to Outset.

"That is Headstone Island. Entrance to the Earth Temple. A sage should reside over there. You will need to brave the dangers of the temple and find the sage. That should be one step of the way to reopening the portal to Hyrule."

"Right! Got it!"

With that long conversation out of the way, Link turned the wind to the southwest and the duo were on their way.

* * *

As they sailed out of the Tower of the Gods, Link stared down into the ocean as far as he could. Even as he squinted, he could not see even the slightest outline of the castle or the land below.

After a long period of sailing, it started to gently rain. Link turned a bit to swing the boom and use the sail to keep dry.

"Tell me, boy. Do you know about the ancient races of old Hyrule?" asked the King. Link flinched at how this question just came out of nowhere.

"No, sire. No, I don't. Can you tell me?"

"They are the Kokiri, the Goron, the Zora and the Human. Of course, you will not know of the former three, so-"

"Are the Kokiri the Koroks?" interrupted Link. The King gasped in surprise.

"My goodness… you knew?"

"Just a guess from the names, really. Similar." said Link with a shrug.

"Anyway, the Gorons were almost wiped out by the great flood as water erodes rocks. The Zora… no longer exist."

"Oh... Two extinctions. Sorry to hear that." winced Link as he looked for Headstone Island in the distance.

"Well, none, really. There are a few Gorons rumoured to still walk on the islands, living off rocks and the Zora evolved into a different race entirely." explained the King. Link was about to respond but some clouds parted in the distance to reveal a small island.

"Oh! There we are! Is that Headstone Island?"

The King nodded.

"YES! Time to see what's going on!"

Link sailed the rest of the way to the island. As he pulled up, he could see that it had a stony beach. Stones of various sizes lined it, with the bigger stones at the front near the shore. Tiny little stones covered the beach, with lines of medium-sized stones crossing the island. Hardened pieces of seaweed tangled in the pebbles. Very large chunks of clay jutted out of the surface like rocks. Finally, there was a large crack in the towering rock that made up the island. It was so large that it seemed to extend into the cave.

"Link, the temple is just through that entrance. If there is a problem with getting in, come back and see me." arranged the King. Link got off onto the wet stones, which sank alarmingly under his weight. He nodded at his boat and set off across the sands and into the cave ahead.

* * *

Link huffed in frustration as he got into the cave and noticed something tickling his socks. He took off his boot and turned it upside down. Like the little balls in a rainstick, little stones came pouring out, bouncing off the floor like insects. Grimacing, he emptied his other boot, put them both back on and headed through the cave. Pushing through cobwebs, he finally came across a good sign. Well, it was rather ambiguously good as it seemed to block the way. It was a large stone tablet, much taller than him. Through the dust, six symbols decorated the tablet. Link took a breath and blew on it.

 **WHOOOOOOOSH!**

Dust shot off the tablet. Link covered his eyes as it began floating around the room. each of the shapes depicted arrows pointing in a specific direction.

 _"_ _Six?"_ thought Link before the King's words from back at the Tower of the Gods buzzed through him.

" _If you ever come across a song that has six notes, move your hand to the right."_

Without even noticing, Link took out the Wind Waker and followed his thought.

 **One, two, three, four, five, six! One, two, three, four, five, six!**

The notes to this were played a lot faster than anything else Link had ever learned. Studying the notes, he moved the baton:

 **Down, down, middle, right, left, middle.**

A churchly rhythm sung out from the wind. It sounded like a short jingle an organ player would make before a hymn.

 **Drip.**

Link whirled around as he heard something falling to the floor. Had it started raining outside again?

 **Drip!**

Link watched as water materialised on the ceiling and dripped to the floor.

 **Dripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdripdrip!**

The water splattered onto the floor harder and harder until it formed a circle.

"What's going on?" mused Link as the water began to spin like it going down the plughole of a sink.

With a large spray, a figure burst out of the middle, sending drops of water dancing in the air. They gently touched Link's hair and slid down like dew on grass.

A translucent woman, a ladylike figure, floated gracefully towards the boy. She was like no woman he'd seen before. Her skin was an aquatic combination of blue and white and rays of light seemed to bounce from it like the surface of a pool on a sunny day. Her face was pretty and elegant, featuring sparkling eyes and a delicate yet gentle and calm stance.

...Someone Link had met came to mind and the boy tried his best to remember who it was...

The woman was clad in a shark-print bolero, which she wore under a fancy purple dress. Dinner with the ambassador? Maybe a night at the opera? This is what those clothes looked like they'd be used for. She just about hovered above the cave ground. Her dress and the shark tail that hung from her head leaned thanks to a ghostly gust of wind that Link himself couldn't feel. As Link watched wordlessly, she strummed what the boy had conducted on a golden harp.

" _Where have I seen that before?"_ thought Link as he regarded the lap instrument. Though the cave was reflected in its rich sheen, the boy was not included in it.

The… woman began to speak.

"Bonjour. Je suis le sage du Temple de la Terre. Pourquoi es-tu venu ici?"

Link smiled at her in confusion. What on earth was this? And why did it sound so friendly? If one were to speak that language, they could say literally anything they wanted and it would sound like a meeting with a stress therapist.

"Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?" the lady asked. She held her harp to her face and smiled, trying to find her teeth in the reflection. "Y a-t-il quelque chose dans mes dents? Peut-être un morceau d'os de poisson." continued the woman.

"Sorry! I can't understand what you're saying! I don't speak… that!" replied Link, gesturing wildly to try and illustrate what he was saying.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You are a human. You probably can't understand that language. It hasn't seen use in years." The woman jarringly switched to English. "That was French, and was the language of the Zora before we evolved. It originated in a parallel world to this one. A country by the name of France."

Link shaped his mouth into an O of interest. "My language is called English. Where did that come from?" asked Link.

"The United Kingdom. More specifically, England. It is located near France."

"Oh! That's interesting! Are you the sage of this place?"

"I… was. I'm sorry." replied the woman solemnly. She lowered her head a little.

"You're sorry? Sorry for what? What happened?" Link stepped a little closer to her.

"First, let me introduce myself. I was a Zora. I was the Great Sage of the Earth Temple. My name was Laruto."

Link's ears perked up at the use of the word 'was'. "What do you mean 'was'?"

"Well, the Zora cannot stand extremely hot or cold temperatures. Ganondorf, the King of Evil, must have found out about my weakness. He sent a monster into the Earth Temple. A monster that used fire. I… am now a wondering spirit." said Laruto, her voice breaking a little. She was obviously upset over this.

"...Oh..." cringed Link as a cold chill pierced him from all over. "That must be why my sword didn't work against Ganondorf."

"For a long time, I offered my prayers to the Master Sword. Now that I can no longer do it, the Earth Temple needs someone to take my place. Not just anyone will do," Laruto showed her harp to Link, "they need to be directly related to me. One of my bloodline. Take a look at this harp here."

Now that he had permission, Link stared at the harp and glared in concentration. Her harp was of a man with a large nose and horns.

Hmmm…

"You must conduct that song you just did, the Earth God's Lyric, in front of my descendant. If you get the right one, they will be awakened as a sage."

"Interesting..." mused Link.

"When you succeed, bring them to this temple and brave it with them at your side. When you reached the prayer room, you must destroy the monster that haunts it and then conduct the Earth God's Lyric with the Master Sword in the golden triangles in the middle to partially restore its power."

It was hard for Link to notice at first, but the outline of the ghost was beginning to fade.

"Wait, where are you going?" he gasped. Laruto was growing fainter by the second.

"I am afraid I can say no more. Please... approach my descendant... play the Earth God's Lyric..."

"I won't let you down, Laruto." declared Link.

The last thing he could make out of her was the edge of her smile, then she vanished.

"Je vous remercie." came her fading voice.

Link was back to being alone in the cave.

* * *

"Sire! Sire! Oh, my goodness!" shouted Link as he ran out of the cave waving his arms wildly. Suddenly, he tripped in a knot of seaweed and landed face-first in the small stones. "Oh, my face..."

"What is it, Link?" asked the boat hurriedly. Link pulled his face out of the wet gravel.

"It's the sage! She's a ghost!"

The boat looked away. "I feared so… It takes a lot to silence sages. They'll pray through thick and thin."

"She told me to find her descendant so they can come with me to the temple and they can take her place, but… aren't all of the Zora extinct?"

The King shook his head. "Kind of. You see, the Zora evolved to adapt to the new climate.

"But… Laruto looked like a fish! Why on earth did the Zora need to adapt to a giant flood when they can swim just fine?"

"Link… The gods flooded Hyrule to keep Ganondorf trapped down there. If the Zora were able to swim freely, they may have accidentally discovered Hyrule and risked freeing him by mistake. Hylia took their scales and, to make up for it, gave them-"

"WINGS!" shouted Link. The boat stared at him in alarm. "I get it! That makes so much sense! I know exactly who to go and find now!"

Link jumped up and down like he was on a sugar rush.

"Who is it, then?" asked the King.

"It is the Rito girl, Medli!"

There was an awkward pause between the two.

"Who's Medli?" questioned the King.

"She's one of my friends from Dragon Roost! I helped her out in the cavern!"

The King's eyes widened momentarily before his head drooped like a flower. "I am so sorry." he whispered.

"What for?" asked Link. He had just found out how to repair the Master Sword! What was bad about that?

"Well… come aboard, Link."

Link did as he was told.

"Do you know what being a sage… requires?"

Link felt a little concern.

"N-no..."

"Well… A sage… they must… sever all ties with their past life, spend the rest of their life in the praying chamber and sacrifice the rest of their days to pray for power."

Link's heart dropped so hard it almost turned to stone and crashed through the deck of the boat.

"No." he gasped.

"As soon as Medli makes it to that chamber, she must devote herself fully to the gods. She will never see outside, her home or the Rito ever again. You are the one who must deliver that message to her."

* * *

I'm not lying when I say that the silence that occurred after this went on for a full minute. To save space, therefore, the paper, therefore, the trees, therefore, the forests and therefore, the word, I shall cut it short for you. We can't just have a load of paragraphs of empty space now, can we?

"I... can't just tell her that!" Link finally spoke up, his jaw humming from emotion, "She'll... She'll probably be scared to death, know what I mean? She is admittedly a little fragile, it seems."

"But do you want the power restored to the Master Sword?" The King asked calmly.

"Yes… Yes I do… Sire..." he stuttered, his voice breaking.

"Well, I am truly sorry about what you must do, but it is the only way to restore the Master Sword's energy. If you're worried about young Medli starving, her prayers are what nourishes her."

"What about her sanity? Spending your whole life in a room with no sound or changes in scenery can't be good for you."

"In normal circumstances, you would be right," the King replied instantly, "but if you are a sage... your mind is refreshed as you pray."

When the King stopped speaking, Link took the moment to hide his face and splash it with water to hide his sorrow but the King knew. He knew from the way Link looked at him. "What is it?" Link asked him,

"Link… My boy… I am sorry. I shouldn't have told you that with no warning. By putting myself at your position, I can see why this would be a tough decision for you to make. Unfortunately, you must make it. And fast." said the boat softly.

Link calmed down a little.

"Yes… I will tell her. It might not be pretty, but-"

"That will not be necessary. You don't need to use words, only that song you learned in there."

"...Sorry?" murmured Link.

"If you conduct the Earth God's Lyric to Medli, she will understand what she needs to do without question. Don't worry about her getting sad or angry. Trust me, she won't."

Link unenthusiastically stood up and pressed the sail button lightly. Directing the wind to take him to Dragon Roost Island to meet his friend for the last time, he set off into the day.


	23. Congregating Seagulls

The boy and his boat arrived in silence at Dragon Roost Island. The ride there had taken about two hours, but it felt like five to Link. He really wasn't on board with leaving one of his best friends to do nothing but play an instrument for the rest of her life in some musty room.

"Are you all right?" asked the King, obviously concerned. Link continued looking up at the peak of Dragon Roost Island.

"Yeah, it's just-"

"I understand." The King swiftly began talking again. "This is a hard thing for you to do. With your kindness, it would be hard enough to do to a complete stranger, but a good friend... I am so sorry it has to be this way."

"But... why does it have to be this way?" Link asked him as civilly as possible so it wouldn't escalate. "The last time I lost someone forever was my parents... I thought I was all out of people to lose."

"Even though Medli must remain on Headstone Island, that does not mean she will be forever alone."

Link raised his head, discreetly wiping his eyes. "What?"

"You can visit her and give company whenever you wish. It's not like she'll be put in a slumber or stasis or anything like that. Being a sage is a great honour and I'm sure it shall be even greater if someone like you delivers the message."

There was another pause between the companions. If the King thought Medli should be thankful for Link essentially locking her in a dungeon and taking her away from her home forever, he had another thing coming. Link even felt slight resentment that he fought down, not wanting another incident. When Link saw some Rito flying down into the Aviary, he climbed out of the boat and landed in the shallow part of the sea. "I just have to let conducting her... come naturally in, right?"

The King nodded and grinned. "Precisely. Don't bring the sage duties up. Maybe show the Wind Waker to her and offer to conduct her."

The boy looked down at the Wind Waker as he bought it into his hands. He did a deep, drawn out breath and tightened his grip. "All right. I'm ready."

* * *

On his way up, Link remembered everything. The spot where the wind tripped him over, the farm that allowed him to get further on and the tunnel where Quill had made him jump so high that he almost hit his head on the roof. All of it became more familiar, the boardwalk, the grand doors and finally…

the Aviary. Link pushed the big doors open and headed inside.

The inside of the Aviary was chipper as always. Posties flew through the flaps to deliver the post, people on the second floor were sorting letters into cubby holes and…

"Ah! ¡Niño! ¿Necesitas ayuda?"

Link turned behind him as a rather old looking Rito walked up near him.

"Um… Do you know where I can find… Medli? I need to talk to her." said Link uncertainly. The man clearly didn't understand his full sentence, but he heard Medli's name.

"Ah! Up! Up top!" The man looked up at the very top floor. "Lift working. Use lift."

Link bowed to the man. "Thank you… sir." he said respectfully. He headed to the lift, pressed the button and stepped inside the moment the capsule became available.

" _Let's see… The man said that she was on the top floor. Ten is the biggest number here so lets go for ten!"_ thought Link as he pressed button number ten. Slowly, the lift began to rise into the air before it reached its cruising speed.

Link felt… strangely grown up, using the lift on his own. Sure, he learned how to sail, but that was with a boat telling him what to do. True, he had fought giant monsters with eyes the size of his head before but…

…

…

…

OK, I've got nothing for that. Using something by yourself for the first time when someone else had to do it other times felt strangely liberating.

 **TING!**

The bell went off as the lift smoothly stopped at the top floor. There were two doorways at the top: One led into the meeting room and another… was a much thinner door that seemed to let cold air in.

"I think I'll check the meeting room first." said Link to himself. He sneaked over to the giant, tasseled door and pressed his ear up against it to check that there wasn't an important meeting going on in there. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case.

"Y es por eso que deberíamos tener un tanque de agua para beber desde aquí." a muffled voice droned rapidly on the other side.

A pair of hands could be heard pressing on the table. "¡Esa es una buena idea y eso es todo para la reunión de hoy! De acuerdo, nos vemos mañana!"

Link was about to groan but then he heard people inside getting up and moving around as if whatever was going on in there had finished. Gingerly, Link knocked on the door.

 **Knock knock knock!**

Everyone in the room stopped talking.

"Hay alguien en la puerta." came a single voice.

"Puedes pasar." This voice sounded much more familiar. It was elderly and inviting. Taking that as a 'Come in', Link twisted the door handle and walked inside. Everyone in the room looked at him as he walked in, his eyes locked on the only two familiar ones there:

Quill and Matías.

"Well, it's you again!" said Quill excitedly. "How's your sister? Is she back?"

Link scratched his chin. "I don't know at the moment. I last heard that she got on a pirate ship with all of the other prisoners. She's safe with them and she may even have returned home by now."

Quill looked like he had just received news that he had won the lottery. "How very afortunado! ¡Perfecto!" he said excitedly, clapping his hands. "But what brings you back to the village? Do you want to have a letter delivered to her?"

Matías stroked his beard, as if choosing his words. "It is a great honour to have you back at our village, Link." he said. "We will be proud to assist you in any way, mi amigo." Link shifted nervously. Since he had been greeted so warmly, he didn't want to deliver the bad news to them. What would they tell Komali? How would Medli's other friends and family react?

"Well… Do you know where Medli is?" Link ended up asking, praying they didn't press the matter. "I need to tell her about something. Something important! Someone downstairs said she was up top" He picked his words so that he wouldn't be lying, but he also wouldn't absolutely devastate the entire race of Rito.

"Medli, eh? Well, the last time I saw her… She was outside on the rock spire, practicing her harp. I could just about make her out in the clouds. It is a bit cloudy at the top, so mind your step." instructed the chieftain.

"Thank you, sir!" said Link, bowing to them and making his way out of the meeting room before anyone could try and get more context. All of the Rito kept chatting to each other as he headed through the thin tunnel and into the cold air outside.

* * *

It was cold and mostly dead at this point of Dragon Roost. The clouds were lower than usual today, so he was shrouded in thick fog. The boy chattered and hugged himself to stay warm.

 **Rrrrrrring, rrrrrrrrrring, rrrrrrrrring, rrrrrrring…**

To his right, Link heard a song being played up there. It was a sad yet happy tune that sounded like one was alone but they were having a blast with their music.

Link slowly walked along the rotting boardwalk towards the source, making sure he didn't make any holes in the ground. As his eyes adjusted to the obstructions, he saw a ledge jutting out like a very long diving board. Fences surrounded the edges. On the end of the ledge was a girl of his age. Brown hair, white, pale skin, a mild blue dress and a golden harp that glimmered through the fog.

Yep. No mistaking it, that was Medli all right.

Link felt a pain in himself. The same one you get as a child when you get separated from your parents and just realise you are now lost. He wasn't sure if this was because he was happy to see her again or because of what he had to do, but he got onto the ledge and slowly stepped towards his friend, slowly wondering how he was going to go from chatting to her to offering to conduct her. What if she thought something suspicious was up? What if she got angry? What if-

"Link?!" squeaked Medli. Link almost jumped all the way up to Valoo's perch. He was so deep in thought that he didn't see the girl turning around and noticing him.

"Oh, hey! Medli! How've you been?" said Link awkwardly.

Medli's whole face brightened like a sunrise at the sight of him and Link suddenly felt horrible for it. Medli ran over to Link and hugged him so hard he almost fell backwards. "Oh… sorry about that. It's just… you're alive! You're OK!" The girl released Link so he could catch his breath. "So, how are you doing? I heard from everyone that that you finally saved your sister!"

"Yeah! And, thanks to Quill and Komali, I'm safe as well."

Medli jumped a little. "Oh, Komali! Yes! That's it! He's grown by MILES recently. He grew like bamboo!"

"Right! After I beat that bird, he actually managed to help me and my… friend..." Link swallowed in shame thinking of Zelda, "… out of the fortress."

"Whoa! That sounds amazing! What happened?"

Link rubbed his sleeve a little.

"Well, you know that giant bird that kicked me into this whole quest?" Medli nodded her head. "Let me just say, I was waiting for days to bash its bonce in and when I finally got to do it..." Link clapped his hands together in satisfaction. "...I felt the most satisfaction I have ever felt in my life. Even though the bird was down, I still had one more enemy to fight. He was too strong. He almost killed me and my friend!"

"Oh no!" said an enraptured Medli. She was really into the story.

"Oh, yes!" continued Link. "He almost won, but Komali saved my friend and Quill saved me and then Valoo just… set his lair on fire!"

"He did!?" Medli glanced up at Valoo, sitting peacefully atop the mountain. He burped out a blue flame as if that was answering her request for verification.

"Yeah! He was like: **KPWWWWWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** And the whole thing went up in blue flames!"

Medli was stunned. "That sounds traumatic." she said softly.

"Yeah. It was rather scary." admitted Link.

"Oh, I have an idea. It should help you take your mind off it a little!"

"I'm listening." confirmed Link.

"Just stand at this edge here with your arms out and your eyes closed." instructed Medli.

Link's eyes closed a little with fear and wonder, which Medli took notice of. She frowned for a moment.

"What's wrong? Oh, don't worry! I won't let you fall off the edge! I've done this with Komali before and he really loved it!"

Well, that just about did it. He could trust Medli. Anyone could. Link slowly walked over to the ledge and looked down. White. White, white, white clouds sprawled below him. He looked up. A little bit of blue bled into the otherwise blank canvas of clouds.

"Are you ready?"

Link nodded, extended his arms like a scarecrow and shut his eyes. Even though he felt perfectly safe with Medli supervising, he felt his muscles tensing and his heart rate increasing.

Medli began playing her harp and singing softly.

" _ **Da da daaaaaaaa, da da daaaaaaaaaaaaa,da da da daaaaaaaaaaaa...**_ "

Suddenly, Link could no longer feel the ground below him. He didn't want to open his eyes at risk of ending whatever this was, all he could feel was… wind… wind everywhere. It felt like he was falling through the air but without feeling like he was going to die at any moment. The wind ruffled through his hair and blew his clothing about as if the wind was playing with him.

" _ **Da da daaaaaaaa, da da daaaaaaa-AWK!**_ " There was a loud clatter as Medli dropped her harp to the floor. Suddenly, Link dropped to the ledge, holding onto the railings for support. He immediately stepped over and picked up her harp to give back to her.

"What in the world was that?" he asked incredulously. Medli was white as paper and was sweating furiously.

"T-that's not what usually happens! The wind always just feels really nice in that spot! It doesn't usually play with people like that!"

Link frowned. Was all of that an accident?

"Well..."

Suddenly, Medli beamed. "Are you the Waker of the Winds? Is that what Valoo meant last time you were here?"

Link shuffled a little. "You mean… this?" with a ruffle, he delicately pulled out the Wind Waker. This was it... the moment of truth... the make-or-break...

"Ooh, the Wind Waker! Fascinating! I've heard stories about how songs conducted by the Wind Waker are played on instruments and they have these really weird effects!" cried Medli in delight. Link quite noticeably had to muffle a sigh of relief, but Medli didn't take mind of it.

"Let's try one, shall we?" asked Link. His hope started returning to him more quickly.

"Right! You conduct, I'll play!" trilled Medli, readying her harp. Link moved his free hand right.

 **Down, down, middle, right, left middle.**

Medli played the song perfectly. In fact, she seemed to already know it, even though it seemed impossible. She played the rhythm perfectly and even added little touches into it including two rolling notes at the end.

"Wait… do you know that song?" he asked curiously. "You did that perfectly!" Medli was slowly turning even more pale than she naturally was. She was even a little unresponsive, like she was going through hypotensions.

"T-that song… It… sounds so familiar..." she said hoarsely. "Link… Where did you learn that song?"

"Well-"

"It's… just so… familiar. Yet at the same time… I can't remember ever learning it..."

Medli began sweating as if she was ill. She wobbled towards the edge, coming dangerously close to falling.

"Medli? Are you all right?" asked Link. He sounded very concerned as he stepped towards her, ready to catch her if she fell off the edge.

"I'm just fine. That song… It's like… something that's trying to be remembered..."

She began swaying a little. Link walked after her in concern.

"Oh, I feel-" she murmured before she began to topple over. Her hands scraped the strings of her harp and they screeched in terror. and fell to the floor.

"Medli!" shouted Link as he broke into an instinctive sprint. He caught her in the nick of time and gently set her down

* * *

" _What have I done?"_ thought Link after five minutes as he rested her head on his lap. _"Did I conduct the song wrong and now she's played a song that knocks people out?"_

 **PLINK!**

Link jumped and looked down at Medli's Harp. Her pale hand was slowly moving towards it and plucking at the little strings.

 **PLINK!**

" _I've heard of playing in your sleep, but this is ridiculous!_ " thought Link as her notes got more and more fluent. She was breathing softly as if she had just gone to bed after a hard day of work.

 **Rrrrrrrrring, rrrrrrrrrrong, rrrrrrrrrrrrring, rrrrrrrrrrong…**

Seven minutes later, Medli was still out cold. Link was worried sick. What had he done? What if a Rito were to come out and see her like this, thinking he had something to do with it? _"Maybe I should go and tell them she fainted while talking to me. They fixed me up, they should be able to help her in her time of need..."_

"Link?" Medli said hoarsely as she began to wake up. Immediately, Link softened a little. She was all fine.

"Are you all right? Everything fine?" asked Link. Her face looked like she just realised something that had been in plain sight all along. For example, crabs thinking fish can fly. This expression, however, told Link she knew exactly why she fainted. Exactly why he came to her and why he conducted songs to her and that hurt him.

Medli sat up. "A sage just spoke to me… She spoke… so calmly."

"Yes?"

"You knew what you had to do, and now I do too. I know who I am and why I live. I am the New Earth Sage. I must restore the power to the Master Sword. I am ready to fully devote myself to this mission."

"I'm sorry, Medli." murmured Link. "I wish there was a way around it..."

"No, I'm glad. I'm finally going to be of a good use to someone..." Link's heart almost snapped when a lone tear slid down Medli's face. "It's incredible. Increíble, even." As she tried to use a Spanish word out of respect for her people, her pronunciation faltered a bit. Medli uneasily stood up. "Can we leave… now?"

The two heard the flapping of wings overhead.

"Oh, Komali..." Medli's eyes slid shut once again. "I just want him to remember me as a… simple attendant. It would be best if we got going now." said Medli as she watched him gracefully gliding through the air.

"But this might be your last chance to say goodbye to everyone." warned Link solemnly. "Are you sure about that?"

Medli nodded her head. "It's for his own good." she replied. "There's a shortcut down the path over there. Let's go."

Link supported Medli until she was no longer dizzy and then they both disappeared down a little tunnel.

Komali circled the ledge and landed gracefully, skidding to a stop,. "Hey, Medli! I need to ask you some-" he started before looking down and seeing the imprint of dust where she had fallen."...Medli?"

* * *

Medli sat on the gunwale of the King of Red Lions as Link got everything sorted, wind direction, supply checks and everything else. Finally, he stomped the sail button and the boat shot off from the shore, the sudden jerk almost causing Medli to fall out.

After forty five minutes of sailing, Link noticed that Medli was… doing nothing. She was watching the water splashing by, not even reacting when a little wash splashed her in the face. It was as if she turned into a statue.

"Are you OK, Medli?" asked the boy as he steered away from a rock.

"Yes… I'm OK… I'm just..." The girl paused. Something was clearly wrong with her. It was almost like an illness.

"Thinking?" suggested the King of Red Lions helpfully. She had just been reintroduced to him as she boarded. The King seemed to warm to her immediately. It might have had something to do with the polite bow she gave when she got to the shore. "You are right to be thinking. Being a sage is a great responsibility."

"How long do we have until we reach the island?" asked the girl to the King. "I'm looking forward to seeing it."

"About an hour and a quarter." responded the boat.

As he kept going, he noticed a gathering of seagulls congregating in a single spot in the air. Interested by this behaviour, Link turned slightly to go through them. Maybe that would lighten things up.

Suddenly, the King gasped in realisation of something. "Link, turn away! Those-"

But before he could finish his sentence and before Link could process a word of what was said to him, the boat got trapped in a whirlpool. The sky clouded over and it started raining violently. Finally, something began rising from the water in the centre of the whirlpool.

It was a giant squid of some kind. It was mostly grey with a light blue outline. Its upper body swirled into curlicues. Its most recognisable feature was eight yellow eyes with horizontal lines as pupils.

" **OH, MY GOODNESS!** " shouted Link as the squid started to suck in water to power the whirlpool.

"What on earth is that?" shouted Medli, holding onto the gunwale for dear life.

"A Big Octo!" shouted the King over the wailing winds. "Link, aim for its eyes!"

"Right! Cannon, please!" answered Link at equal volume. The cannon burst out of the deck of the boat. Concentrating hard, Link aimed the tiller and squeezed the button

 **BOOOM!**

A bomb flew through the air at the Big Octo.

 **KABOOOOOOOOM!**

With a massive explosion, the bomb covered the Big Octo in smoke. When it subsided, four of its eyes had turned blue and were crackling with blue electicity.

"Good shot!" laughed the King.

Now was no time for celebration. The Big Octo roared, lifted a tentacle from underwater into the air and slammed It down into the water, making a large wave that nearly tipped the boat over.

"Are you all right, Link?" asked the King urgently as Link shook his head to get all the water out of his hair.

"Yes, I'm good. What about you, M-" Link turned to find Medli but she was no longer on the gunwale.

"Oh, no! **MEDLI?** " called Link. " **WHERE ARE YOU?** "

Link heard spluttering ahead of him, closer to the Big Octo than he was.

"Medli? Is that you?" panted Link as he surveyed the whirlpool. Getting rather close to the Big Octo was a thrashing Rito girl.

"Medli!" called Link. He rummaged in his bag and pulled out his Grappling Hook. He began spinning it around at high speed. It whooshed through the air.

 **WHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUPWHUP!**

After he built up speed with it, he chucked it at Medli. The hook shot through the air and splashed into the water.

"Medli, grab on!" shouted Link. Medli passed through once again. Sighting the end of the grappling hook, she caught it and held on for dear life. Link dug his boots into the boat and pulled as hard as he could. The Big Octo began inhaling harder and harder to try and eat her, but Link was somehow overpowering it.

"Try and climb up!" he called to her. Medli did as she was told, grunting and not daring to take her hands off the rope. She simply loosened her grip with one hand and then shuffled up the rope.

After five minutes of pulling, Link finally hauled his friend on board. Not even stopping to be relieved, he started aiming his cannon at the last four eyes of the monster.

"Smile, you pile of squid guts!" he sneered as he slammed the firing button.

 **BOOOM!**

Another bomb flew through the air and hit the squid square in the eyes.

 **KABOOOOOOOOOOM!**

With another explosion, the monster's remaining four eyes turned electric blue. Explosions started destroying all of the eyes one by one before it eventually had none left. Thrashing wildly, the beast sank below the waves before a large shock wave shook the surrounding area. The Big Octo had exploded underwater.

Wait a minute, I've just realised: Why do Big Octos look like squids?

Man, my shower really makes me think weird things.

* * *

The two lay on the deck, exhausted.

"Are you all right, Medli?" puffed Link breathlessly.

"Yes. A little shaken, but the monster is gone now. Thanks to you."

The two looked over at the fizzing water. Link seemed particularly interested in some kind of… figure below the surface.

"Who's that?" he asked softly.

"Who? I don't see them." replied Medli.

The figure burst out of the water, sending twinkling drops all over the place. It was a large, floating, four-armed woman with dark skin, no pupils, and a skirt that spiralled away into nothing, which may or may not have been hiding legs.

"Why, hello, children!" trilled the woman.

"Who are you?" asked Link as he signalled for the King to put the cannon away.

"I am a Great Fairy who lives at a nearby island." replied the woman. "It seems that someone found out about my potential helpfulness to the Hero and sent one of those foul monster after me."

This sounded familiar. "Wait a moment. Can I just look for something in here?" requested Link. The fairy nodded. Immediately, Link reached his arm inside his bag and looked at the bottom of the pile. When he felt paper in his hand, grabbed it and withdrew his arm.

A green chart was in his hands. The one he had received from Tingle ages ago.

"Yes! OK, then, are you this fairy?" Link opened the map and showed the fairy the crude illustration of a fairy that was on the same quadrant as him.

The fairy flew in closer for a better view. "Yes. It would seem so."

" _So that's what this meant!_ "

Suddenly, the fairy flew back and cupped her bottom set of hands upwards.

"So, you two, as a reward for saving me… **I shall enhance your sail!** "

With that, the Great Fairy opened her bottom set of hands, revealing a lotus flower in them. With a deep breath, she blew the petals in the direction of the King of Red Lions. They surrounded Link, Medli and the boat before finally dispersing.

"What… what did you just do?" stammered Medli.

"Why don't you open your sail and find out?" suggested the fairy with a smirk. Finally, she began shrinking into a ray of light before she was gone.

* * *

"OK… Better do as she suggested!" said Link. He stomped on the sail button.

The sail shot upwards and the boat zipped off.

"Argh!" yelped Medli. The boat shot off at a much faster pace than usual. The emblem on the sail was also glowing red.

"Yes! This should cut down our travel time!" whooped Link as the boat bulleted down the blue. "Next stop, the Earth Temple!" Medli was silent, but she hung onto the sail of the boat for dear life and clamped her eyes shut.

This was the first step of the way to powering up the Master Sword.

I hope you're all ready for it.


	24. A Secret Entrance

The little boat zoomed across the water, twice as fast as its usual speed. It seemed that no matter how much Link turned the boat, the wind would always turn to follow him. With twice the speed, the boat made it to island in good time. Nightfall.

The boat stopped at the stony shore of Headstone Island. Link hopped out of the boat when the waves lapped out and then helped Medli, swiftly walking from the way of the water before it could send a wave at them. "Careful. It's hard going on these stones. Stay light or they'll get in your shoes." warned Link. After the boy helped her out of the boat, Medli made sure to stand on the bigger stones to avoid this.

"Children, listen well." said the King, rocking around in the wash. The two turned to him. "If Ganondorf has attacked this place, that must also mean he has flooded it with monsters of all kinds. This may well include the one that ended Great Sage Laruto."

"Jalhalla." muttered Medli, sounding very serious all of a sudden.

Link looked at her and tilted his head. "Sorry?"

"Jalhalla is a giant ghost far down in the Earth Temple." Medli's head lowered and her fist tightened and shook. "If anyone took Laruto's life, it's that beady-eyed banshee."

The King resumed talking. "Listen, Link. You two, Medli. You two have a very specific battle dynamic that you must follow to the letter and spirit. Link, you are a warrior. The offence of the two of you. Medli, you are a mage, the support of the team."

Link and Medli nodded in unison.

"With respect, what am I supposed to do?" Medli shyly asked the King, joining her hanging hands and looking down.

"All the songs you learned as a young youth fledgling served a purpose. Depending on the song you play, you can grant Link and even yourself boosts to a certain attribute. Be it health, attacking power, defensive power, speed, energy and even revival."

"I can... Wait, what? I can revive the... dead?" Medli looked over at Link, hopeful for the King to say she was correct.

"Yes. However, if someone you wish to revive has been dead for over five minutes, I am afraid that song will no longer work on them."

Link cracked a smile and playfully nudged Medli's arm. "So if I snuff it in there and you don't arrive in time, expect a whopping haunt!" he said, laughing and making sure Medli understood that was a joke. Still, the thought of her friend dying with her being able to do nothing about it made her sad. She snorted in forced laughter for a moment before clearing her throat.

"I shall make certain that both of us come out alive!" Medli declared, raising her harp and letting the moonlight reflect off it. "Well... only one of us can come out, but... you know!"

"Work together as a team and all should go well. Look out for each other. Medli, protect Link. Link, protect Medli."

The children locked hands and shook. "Yes!" they both answered confidently. The king moved his head back and widened his eyes, slightly surprised by their courage but pleasantly so.

"Good. Well, good luck. May you be successful."

Medli bowed to the boat. "It was a pleasure… um..."

Link whispered to her. "Sire."

"Yes, it was a pleasure, sire!" finished Medli.

The companions muttered words of agreement turned and slowly headed into the cave, the stones crunching underneath them.

* * *

Link scanned the cave for dangers. In this situation, he couldn't be too careful.

None so far. He beckoned Medli inside. "Everything's safe."

Medli crept in after him, her head down. They both walked up to the giant stone tablet that contained the notes.

"I know about these. You need to conduct the Earth God's Lyric again." said Medli. Link decided to go with Laruto telling her that as well.

"All right..." Link took out the Wind Waker, moved his free hand to the right and conducted the Earth God's Lyric. Medli followed with her harp, playing the entire song this time instead of the first six notes. Hearing the whole song made Link feel slightly homesick, making him think of Outset… about Aryll and Granny and his mentor of the sword, Orca. Beedle, even the seagulls that would surround Aryll.

When they were done, Medli managed to stay fully conscious this time and Link sensitively pocketed the Wind Waker. Expectantly, they turned and watched the stone tablet, waiting for it to open.

 **CRACK!**

Like what happens when cold water fills a hot mug, a massive split rammed up the height of the tablet.

 **CRACK!**

Another one burst across the width of the tablet.

 **CRACK CRACK CRACK!**

Several more zapped across the tablet before it finally all crumbled away, flooding the room in a shower of dust. The children braced themselves and shut their eyes as the wind swept all of the dust out of the cave.

Once they could open their eyes again, an arched tunnel stretched out in front of them.

"There it is." Medli faltered slightly. Her voice very slightly caught on something. "The Earth Temple." Link looked over at Medli in concern. She was looking down with a mixed look. She kind of looked happy, yet sad at the same time.

"You OK?" asked Link softly.

"Yeah! I'm just fine!" Medli discreetly wiped her eyes clean and stood up straight. "Let's just… get going!"

They walked through the tunnel for a while until they finally reached a humble altar. There was a raised dais in the centre of the room that must have been the secret entrance, but other than that the room was covered in cobwebs. Rocks and debris hung from them.

"This is where we get in." said Medli as she stepped upon the dais. She peered down into the hole. "Are you ready to go?"

Link looked around the room and a stone hanging from a cobweb. "Hang on a minute." he said as he took a few steps back for a run-up. After a brief countdown from three, he ran at the wall, dashed up it for a few steps and grabbed the rock. It tore free from the web.

"I'll just test the depth of this hole." he said. He held his arm out over the hole and dropped the rock.

 **WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee** eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-

The sound of it whooshing through the air got quieter and quieter until it faded into nothing, as did the rock itself. Link began counting up.

"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...11...12..."

 ** _{Roughly five minutes later...}_**

Link continued staring down the pit, having at least counted to 240 before he gave up and just stayed in silence. Finally, he stood up and turned to Medli.

"Medli, it's been about five minutes and I haven't heard a sound. It's either very far down and we couldn't hear it land or it's very far down and it's still going." said Link.

"Given the conditions, I'll go first." Medli stated "I can fly, so I'll catch myself at the bottom."

Link looked at her pair of wings as they unfolded. "Speaking of wings, how is your left one? You know, the sprained one?"

Medli seemed a little confused. She looked closely at her left wing before realising that he was talking about what happened a while ago. "Oh! It's all better thanks to your handiwork!" she declared. Link smiled as she stepped onto the lip of the hole. "Here's my plan: I'll go first and scout ahead. You come down after me. If I see or hear any traps… do you have a way to slow your fall?"

Link nodded. "A giant leaf. The Great Deku Tree from Forest Haven gave it to me. I've tried it. It works." he replied briefly.

Medli continued from where she left off. "Well, if I find any traps down there, I'll shout up for you to deploy it so I can fly you back up to the top. When I reach the bottom, I'll tell you so you can deploy your leaf and slow down for the bottom. You got that?"

"Yes. I got it. All right, I'm ready." said Link, pushing his fear down.

"Right! So am I!"

Medli leaped into the hole before Link could say anything else. She said nothing as she extended her limbs and fell like a starfish.

Link looked over the edge as she vanished into the darkness. "Right… This is probably gonna be terrifying..." he said to himself with a nervous laugh. Why did he feel so unsafe? Medli's plan was foolproof, right?

"It must be my magic! It must be running low!" he deduced as he rooted around in his bag for that bottle containing the rest of his blue potion, he received in Forest Haven. He drank the last of it and felt all his weariness being healed as well as his magic power. No chance of him making a pancake landing at the bottom now.

"OK… Three… two… one… Go!" hesitated Link as he stayed still at the top of the ledge. One short pause later, he looked down again. "And go..."

This is going to be a while, isn't it? Well, I'd better put the kettle on.

"Aaaaaannnnndddd go!"

Link sighed as he investigated the darkness.

"You can do this! Look, it's not that deep! I can see the bottom!" he laughed, still killer nervous. "No, that's not the bottom. That's just darkness hiding a painful and unpleasant death. Aargh!"

Link thought about how his hesitation may foil Medli's plan. "Oh, forget it! I'm going in!" He took a deep breath and leaped into the hole, face down, limbs out, just like Medli had done. Immediately, he felt his heart drop.

"AAAAGH! I WASN'T READY!"

You know that feeling of going on a launching rollercoaster where it just blasts you off from zero to sixty in under a second? Better yet, ever been skydiving? Link's Granny said she did that as a young lady and Link always wondered how she got up that high to do it. A Rito? A cliff? Whatever it was, it made him imagine her younger self as a kind of comic book heroine. This feeling increased tenfold when Link realised just how horrifying falling a long way without warning was. He felt like his skin and hair was going to fly right off and just leave a sentient skeleton rattling through the air.

 **VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

Faster and faster and faster he shot, resisting the urge to scream as best he could so he wouldn't make Medli think he was in danger. If she slowed herself to go and save him, he would go flying down and crash into her and he didn't want that happening.

"Link! Deploy your parachute!" Medli's voice bounced up off the walls. "We're there!"

The boy swiftly held the Deku Leaf above his head and it was suddenly as if he had just slammed on a pair of invisible brakes. Surprisingly, he didn't let go of his leaf. He instead glided fluidly to the floor.

"You know, after a while… you kind of get used to the terror!" gasped Link as he floated down into the room.

This room was dark and gloomy. It was not circular like he'd expected. It seemed to be a whole maze. Long, winding passages lead deep into the temple. Medli was standing at the side of the landing area, watching Link slowly descend.

"Oh, I say! It works!" she said with a clap. Link landed lightly.

"So… this nutter at the end of here is a big, fat ghost with a lantern?" said Link, hushing his voice to match hers.

"Yes, if you can believe it. We need to take him on so that the praying room is unoccupied." replied Medli. "…Unfortunately, this secret entrance leads to rooms that haven't seen use in years… I hope it gets better as we go."

Link surveyed the winding passages ahead of him. The one path they could take went in a straight line and it disappeared straight in the darkness.

"Come on," beckoned Link, "I'll lead the way. You follow me. Tell me if something's behind us."

Link drew his sword and crept out into the first corridor. It was freezing in there and it felt as if he had climbed straight into a meat freezer. He was thankful for his warm clothes, but his main concern was Medli in her short-sleeved dress. He was cold enough as he was, and he could even see his breath. It almost turned to snow.

Link managed to let a chatter out from his trembling lips. "Are you OK-K-K-K? It's f-f-f-freezing down here and you're only wearing a short-sleever!"

"W-w-w-why does it have to be so c-c-c-c-c-cold down here?" She hadn't packed any warm clothes because she was used to living at the top of Dragon Roost Island so she thought she could handle any cold temperature. Now she wished she had packed a coat or jersey. Link wasn't doing any better. He looked at the two layers he was wearing and then looked at Medli, feeling bad about how much she was shivering.

"D-d-d-d-d-do you want to w-w-w-w-wear my overshirt?" he was able to get out, "I have another thing on underneath."

Medli shook her head, still shaking. "N-n-no thanks... C-c-c-c-c-can't have you getting any c-c-colder than you already are. Keep it." Link nodded and they huddled closer together so they would at least have one warm side.

"Is that better?"

That is what Link was about to ask her but suddenly, the floor vanished from underneath in and, yelping, he bounced roughly down a stone staircase and into a canal of murky water.

 **SPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!**

Medli ran down the stairs after him, stopping at the edge unsure of what to do in this situation until Link resurfaced, shivering even harder than he already was.

"Link?" she tentatively called out, "Are you OK?"

"W-w-w-who stole the floor? I was using it!" Link intelligibly slurred. He rapidly climbed out and rejoined his friend. "But there's no other way forward."

"There's only one thing for it..."

* * *

 **SLOSH... SLOSH... SLOSH...**

Shaking and quaking, the children waded through the water, sharing their heat by staying as close together as possible, not that it did much to combat the biting pierce of the cold water. Medli could have flown over it, but she decided to rough it out with Link to support him.

The boy looked at the uneven, dusty walls. Even though there was a great big stone in the way of the entrance, which **should** have stopped anyone else getting in, the walls were coated in graffiti. Examples included blue writing which said "Time to PLAY!" and "Not a ghost of a chance!" but some were more complicated, such as a giant pair of slobbering lips... and... an elephant with at least seven trunks.

"Who could have done all this?" Link whispered. His legs were now beginning to numb from the temperature.

"The only one who could possibly have gotten in... Jalhalla." Medli answered. Her attention turned to incredibly realistic graffiti of a gargantuan, rotund ghost wielding a fiery lantern and wearing a mixture of war paint and clown makeup. He looked like he had a job as a circus clown but had also been drafted into the army. "That's him up there."

"Not only is he a murderer, he's an artist?" Link quickly steered Medli away from a rather graphic picture of a Zora being melted by Jalhalla's lantern.

After five minutes of wading through knee-high water, the dry path returned and both Link and Medli felt like they had just seen the light at the end of a massive tunnel. As he took Medli's hand and pulled her up, they trekked further into the temple. Now that they knew they weren't retracing their steps, they actually felt like they were getting somewhere.

All of a sudden, Link stopped as they prepared to check a room. He looked around silently as if listening for a particular sound.

"What's going on?" whispered Medli. Link kept silence until he heard a very distinct rattle through the arch entrance.

"Moblins." He muttered. "And there's two of the things as well."

"What are they?" Medli breathed.

"The things that captured you in Dragon Roost, but much stronger. I can hear their lanterns." A small flame glided clumsily through the air ahead of him. "I can see them, in fact. Stay hidden for a minute…" He unsheathed his sword, the very one Medli was helping to restore, and jumped into the fight. The girl heard the monsters shout as they saw him followed by the horrible sounds of a scuffle.

For the first minute, the young rito refused the temptation of looking, despite the nasty noises that echoed off the walls. If she put her head around the corner at the wrong time, a Moblin might see her, ditch Link and come for her instead.

"Hyah!" **Clang!**

"Grrah!" **Whoosh!**

 **WHACK!** "Agh!"

The last two sounds broke Medli's resoluteness. That was the sound of a punch and a young cry, not a slash and a monstrous roar. That could only mean…

Terrified, the girl peered around the corner. There was only one Moblin left and before the fat eyesore Link limped back from it, skittering like a scared cockroach to avoid its unflinching fist attacks. One of them lay on the floor dead, but he was in trouble here.

 **BIG STEAMING TROUBLE.**

He put very little weight on his left foot as he jumped out the way of attacks as if it was injured. There were countless marks on his face and visible skin, most seeping dark blood. Even his eyes moved strangely like he was a malfunctioning robot. His forehead and hair were shining with sweat.

Then Medli noticed.

The Master Sword was not in his hand. It was halfway across the room, ungracefully jammed in between two tiles and Link was fighting with just his bare fists.

In an undisciplined manner, the Moblin swung its fist sideways and missed Link, who took the opportunity to strike back, hitting it in the side then once across the face.

 **WHACK!**

And then again, this time in the other direction.

 **BASH!**

And then once more, going for a straight punch with all his might.

 **POW.**

He went for one more, but the monster stopped his fist with his own hand, then slipped behind him and bent his other arm behind his back. The boy cried out in pain as Medli gasped and the Moblin beat him the back, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"Link!" Medli called, "Hit him back! Hit him back!"

He would have done so even if he hadn't heard Medli, but Link threw his elbow back, knocking his foe off balance.

"This is bad…" Medli mumbled, "I can't just do nothing! What can I… My songs! The King said…"

Medli continued watching. The elbow to the face only served to anger the beast. Link threw a few haymakers at it, but a particularly powerful punch floored him. Medli slowly drew her harp, sweating as the brute advanced on her friend.

"Now… what song would make him more powerful?" Medli gave it a think and began playing.

After the particularly vicious tune, Link began glowing purple as if he was possessed by a ghost. Medli gasped in surprise as she witnessed the boy snatch the Moblin's fist from the air and then leaped up, grabbing the Master Sword from his side and slashing the beast into oblivion with it. In fact, he struck so hard that it went flying across the room and dented a solid brick wall before succumbing.

"Medli…" Link called uncertainly. Unsure of his burst of strength, he turned the blade over in his hands. "…What did you just do?"

The rito edged nervously around the corner, looking at the floor as she did. "I… think this is what your boat was referring to… The songs I was taught as a young one serve a purpose for you and that one made you strong."

The purple glow flickered and waned as it disappeared altogether. "Thank you… What do you think your other songs would do?"

 **HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.**

"What is that noise?" the boy murmured. He and Medli both regarded the room in confusion, none of the pair having heard anything like it before. If Link was threatened with red-hot pokers to describe it he would have said it's what you would hear if you were deprived of all your senses for a straight year.

"Link… behind you!" Medli's voice was barely above a whisper. Stiffly, Link turned around.

A long, black plasma arm covered by a violet glow was rising from the floor like a monster from a small yet deep lake. It was rooted into a black vortex that it seemed to be able to move at will because it was humming towards them at speed. Its hand was easily the size of Link's head.

"Link, we need to escape! Now!" Medli said loudly. The hand began flexing its fingers.

"Great idea!"

When the hand got within grabbing distance, the children ran around it and fell back into the dark confines of the hallways. Medli began to lag behind so Link reached back and grabbed onto her hand, pulling her through the maze like a train car. No matter how fast they ran, no matter how disorienting the paths they took were, the hand stayed hot on their tail. It was as if it could see out of Link's eyes…

Eventually, the two ended up on a suspension bridge held up by a series of chain ropes. A set of double doors with ringed handles sat at the other end of it. Getting through it would likely result in escaping this eldritch abomination. Behind him, he could hear Medli beating her wings like a bowl of eggs as if she was trying to fly away in a panic, possibly taking Link with her and she likely would have succeeded if not for what happened in the next few seconds.

Though Link's heart was settling from the sight of escape, it ramped all the way back up when he felt Medli suddenly jerk back. He turned and yelped, almost falling off the shaky bridge.

Another hand, about as big as a Titanoboa snake, had emerged from the mist underneath the bridge. It had baited its prey into running across its river of nothingness, but only one was about to pay the price. It had wrapped its fingers around Medli's waist and was pulling her back in the opposite direction fast.

"Link-!"

The boy didn't hesitate in reaching for Medli's other hand and holding on tight, but this only increased the ferocity of the shadow hand's pull. Both he and Medli kicked at the latter's captor, with her rapidly flapping her wings to get away. Her eyes were wide with fright and Link's were closed in concentration.

The hand probably had three times as much strength as Link had in his entire body. It was no use. Link started to slide along the bridge to the end, hooking his leg around a chain support so he wouldn't fall off himself.

"Link!"

He felt her hands suddenly slide out of his.

"No! Argh!" The sudden halt in momentum nearly made the boy topple off the shaking bridge, but he hooked his now free arms around the chain, hanging halfway off the side.

"Link, come and find me, OK?!" Medli cried up at him. Her voice slowly muted into an echo. "Come and find-!"

Link stared at where Medli had disappeared to. The fog there was now swelling to make up for where Medli punctured through it. Taking the Deku Leaf out, he leaped off the edge of the bridge without a scream and disappeared into the fog below.

"Medli!" Link screamed into the pit. The fog that the girl had parted rose back up, leaving the floor of the chasm invisible once more. Link's plan had gone from evading the hand to outright eviscerating it in complete rage. He whirled, fire in his eyes, to face the first smaller hand.

" **YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!** "

The bridge rocked almightily as Link plunged the sword straight down into the creature's vortex. The monster flailed itself as if cursing a bad driver on the road in complete agony and the hole began flashing white hot. Right when it looked like it was going to turn into a completely undiscovered colour, it detonated in a shadowy blast.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

" **AAAAARGH!** " Link couldn't stop himself from being thrown back into the door from it. It also completely blew the bridge to smithereens. The monster was gone, but Link found himself thrown into the doors, which buckled and gave way under his weight.

* * *

"Find her… find her… FIND… HER…" Link could only repeat to himself as he explored the confines of whatever he had been blasted into. It appeared to him as the foyer of a manor house. The floor was shiny and showed the boy his self from the mirror dimension. The ceiling was very hollow and a massive dome rose into the air from it. It was also patterned with drawings of flowers, the sun and musical instruments.

"Medli? MEDLI?!" His calls did nothing… his way back was blocked off… The only thing he could do now was continue through this way and hope to relocate the girl…

Or not… A dressed-up, winged figure stood silhouetted before him at a speech podium. Her hair was nicely done up and her dress went all the way down to the floor. Her wings sprouted as prettily as always… from her back instead of her sleeves.

He dismissed it as a statue when he noticed these key differences, but he was already at the front of it by the time he did so.

"What are you?" he asked to no one particularly. It was a mix of white and grey and looked like it was made from stone. A statue…

It was of an angel, but the features that made it resemble one were clearly added on afterwards. Its strikingly austere features gave impressions of kindness and hospitality as it looked serenely at him, stretching its hand out as if trying to reach for him…

"To whomever this depicts…" Link began, placing his hands together tightly and bowing his head, "please lead me to my friend… Please take me to Medli…"

His eyes slid shut…

 **SLAM! CRASH!**

Pain burst into his body, but his eyes did not open. They couldn't. He felt sharp claws scratch him and jagged fangs biting onto him. The only screams he heard didn't come from him. They sounded as sharp as what was clawing him, almost like an elephant trumpeting out a demon. As if he were having a nightmare, a humming noise approached while he couldn't see. Rather than running, he… nearly welcomed it. Whatever it would take to get him out of this nightmare.

A plasma hand closed around his waist and yanked him down into a lightless vortex. He now knew no more.

With no more pray to attack, the… "angel"… unnaturally jerked around and glided back to its original location, refitting its wings. Its wrinkled countenance, fangs and claws all faded back into a benevolent smile and its colour changed from blue to stone as it waited for its new foe.


	25. The Protector Of The Seal

Dead quiet. Medli was trapped in the dead quiet. She was sitting in a featureless room deep in the gut of the Earth Temple… She had a small twinge in her heart like this room was as far away from the praying chamber as possible.

"Well, at least that portal didn't go into space. That was nice of it, at least!" she said, giving a nervous laugh. To take her mind off the panic, she began contemplating ways to kill time.

With an idea, she bought her harp out and began playing.

 **Twing, twang, twang… twong twong…** **TWOINK!**

She found that she was so frightened, she kept making silly mistakes.

 **Plink, plonk, plink, PYOING!**

"Aargh! Again!" Medli strapped her harp to her back in frustration. "N-Never mind… Link will be here eventually, right?"

 **Rumble!**

No, shaking reader, that was not an earthquake or a coffin opening. It was the sound of an unseen force moving about under the foundations of the buried temple.

 **Hummmmmmmm... Thump!**

And that was the sound of a Floormaster moving its blank void up a wall and into the cage it had previously dumped Medli into, as well as it dropping a body on the floor.

* * *

"Medli? Medli!"

Link found his consciousness return to him shakily. He lay on the cold, dusty floor of an abandoned room. Ore sat all around him, light blinking off them from the dim torches.

Whatever attacked him was no excuse to drift off course. He really had to find Medli before it was too late.

He heaved himself up, continuing to call the girl's name. He found his vision was too swirly to see anything and his legs could barely support him anymore. They creaked and quaked as if they had suddenly lost all their bones. He almost tripped and fell to the floor but a pair of arms closed around him.

Thankfully, they were slim and soft instead of hard and vicious.

"Link!"

"M-Medli?"

The sage-to-be rito was to his side, helping him stand. She seemed as out-of-breath as he did but at least she could support her weight and Link's for a while. After all, she hadn't been roughed up by… who-knows-what.

"Don't worry, don't worry, you're safe, Link! Just tell me. What happened to you?"

Link found words but could not release them for a few seconds. Every time he tried, an area that was in pain flared up and he could only yelp.

"I… It was a statue in some room." He was finally able to choke out. Medli gently let go of him and they both sat on the floor. The girl looked like she knew what he was going to say and what had happened instantly as her jaw slowly fell open. "I tried… praying to it so it would help me find you, but I got roughed up the moment I closed my eyes…"

"Redeads…"

Link ignored the pain flaring in his body and sat back against a crate. "What now?"

"The living dead… In here, they dress as angels to blend in. Then, when no one is watching, they will make a move to attack."

Link frowned, brushing his hair to the side. "They're dead… Wouldn't that make them really slow?"

"No. They are fast. Faster than you. Faster than you can imagine. If you turn away, look away or even blink, they will go from across the room to right in front of you."

The boy warily looked around in paranoia. "Are there any in here?"

Medli shook her head with her usual warm smile before going to help Link up. "No, there aren't. They can't open doors without making noise and getting seen. This is the ore deposit. Now look to your right."

Link did so. A little carriage made of metal was positioned on a set of tracks. These would go into a messy tunnel where the old inhabitants would mine for minerals.

"I bet you anything the actual temple is down that way." said Link.

"Correct… I can feel Laruto's guidance. She is still with me. She still guides me."

Intrigued, the two walked towards the wheeled contraption, using the wheels to climb inside. It was very spacious, save for some kind of support beam that was inside. There was also a lever at the side…

"How do we make it go?" Link asked. He examined the front, back and sides of the cart momentarily… and then took an interest in the lever that was pressed against the wheel. He gave it a swift pull.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

Much to their surprise, the lever moved a mechanism away from the front wheel. The metal squeaked and spluttered, but the cart began trundling off down the tracks, slowly but surely.

"Oh! I take it that was the brake, then." Link mused with interest.

"If we take the first tunnel on the right…" Medli started, shuffling in her seat, "…this should take us straight to the barracks."

The children sped off into the darkness of the black tunnels with only passing lanterns for light. Unbeknownst to them, a team of five Bokoblins and five Moblins, all of whom were dressed in ornamental robes and wraps, burst into the previous room and only just saw them depart. Bellowing orders to their peers, they pushed two more minecarts onto the tracks and filled them up. All the Bokoblins took one and all the Moblins rode in the other. Whooping, they clattered down the tracks after the intruders.

* * *

"You said the right tunnel, correct?" Link asked Medli. They swayed around a bend and noticed a fork in the path. Both tunnels emanated a menacing, red glow of death…

"If we do nothing, we will be going the wrong way." Medli stated, peering over the top of the cart. "See that lever? We need to hit it so we go right."

"Leave it to me!" The boy gently pulled his sword from its sheath and looked at the little handspike that pointed his way from the side of the tracks. As they whizzed past, he swung.

 **CLANNNNNG!**

A shower of sparks flew, and a bell sounded twice. With a noticeable click, the tracks shifted direction and the children were whisked down the right tunnel.

The pair both felt their stomachs fluttering as they zoomed up and down short drops and hills. Both held onto the sides for support. Meanwhile, the tunnels around them changed from ominous orange to a more mellow blue.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Link panted for reassurance. Unfortunately, he said this just as they ascended a bigger hill. Therefore, the drop to get back down felt more like falling than travelling.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** " they both shrieked, holding onto each other for dear life until the railway evened out.

 **Twoing! Clank!**

Another showing of sparks caught Link's attention. When he looked behind him, he saw an arrow rolling to a stop on the floor. Further back from that, a cart full of Bokoblins hurtled after them. A few wielded patterned, curved knives and the others shot arrows from a distance.

"We have followers!" Link announced loudly over the screeching of wheels. He stole another glance over the back. Their cart was slowing and the monsters were gaining on them at speed. He then looked back at Medli, who was periodically tugging on the brake. "Medli, let go of the brake!"

"What? I can't hear you!"

The boy leaned over and gently pulled the girl away from the lever. "Let it go, we need to outrun those guys!"

While Link kept an eye on the way the tracks moved in front of him, Medli ducked below the lips of the cart so she wouldn't get hit. She longed for Link to do the same so he wouldn't get hit but Link seemed to know what he was doing. He only pulled the brake on corners and even manage to evade an arrow that would have otherwise hit him.

The chase led down a drop and around a sharp bend. All of a sudden, the wheels on the right lifted from the rails.

"Lean right! LEAN RIGHT!" Link shouted. Medli dived for the right with him to balance the cart. If they hadn't, they would have gone right off the tracks and into the abyss.

"Alright, Medli!" Link began. Medli looked at him readily.

"Yes?"

"Come to the front and take the brake! Don't pull it too hard on the corners or we'll crash!"

Link crawled to the back and Medli stayed just out of shooting range, jerking the brake lever as they crested hills. Sparks produced at their wheels and smoke began to cover Link, who had retrieved the beam from the back of the cart and dumped it sideways onto the tracks. As soon as the Bokoblins ran into it, it managed to get stuck in front of their wheels, resulting in a drastic reduction in speed.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

One of them leaned over with their bow and prodded it relentlessly, but the beam stayed where it was. Their screams rose and they began to panic as a particularly thin gap in the wall came closer and closer. Their prey kept looking back to see what would happen and the moment they crossed the threshold into the thinner tunnel, the beam flipped the cart into the air like a pancake and into the sharp rocks on the side.

The boy and girl celebrated momentarily by cheering and high-fiving but they weren't out of the woods (or the tunnels) at that point. The next cart full of stronger, heavier Moblins thundered through, blasting the fallen cart out of the way.

Link groaned at the sight. "Oh, give me strength!"

"Coming right up!"

With that, Medli played the same venomous-sounding song she had performed when Link was fighting with his fists. Once more, he began to shine purple and he felt power surge through him.

"…That was just an expression, Medli, but thank you!" Link stood, sword in hand again. "There's another switch! I'll change our course!"

 **CLANG!**

With his power-up, he took a swing at the passing track switcher and nearly broke it with raw strength. Once again, the tracks shifted and the pair flew down the left tunnel. The Moblins had another plan, though. A barefisted one patted the shoulder of one of the archers to get his attention and shouted, pointing at the lever ahead. An arrow flew into it, diverting their cart to go right.

The aim of this was so that, in the next stretch, the Moblins would be at higher ground. Link's tracks were much lower down than the monsters. The intended use of this higher ground was so the children couldn't hide from the arrows in the bottom of their cart but one of the goblins had another idea. Much to everyone's surprise, it leaped from the cart with a knife shouting a booming war cry as it did, landing on the very back of Link's cart. It would have gone all the way had Link not grabbed onto it and started trying to wrestle the weapon out of its hand.

The knife was getting FAR too close to his friend for his liking and the girl was practically squeezing into the wall of the car to avoid it. It stood firmly on the back buffers as the higher track descended and joined back with Link's. Just as the beast readied itself to stab Medli through, Link headbutted it and, in surprise, it toppled back off the cart.

"Good going, Link!" Medli breathed, "Thanks!"

Link grinned and prepared to welcome her back, but the Moblin from before, who had managed to hang on for dear life at the cost of its knife, leaped back up and punched Link. HARD. Gasping for air, he crumpled into the bottom of the cart. With him out of the way, the fiend began climbing over the metal to get to Medli…

She glared at it, fire in her eyes and then without hesitation she socked it in the face with her bare fist.

" **Aaargh!** " Surprised that she wasn't as defenceless as she seemed, the Moblin fell from the cart for good, crashing to the tracks behind. Before he could even get up, the cart with all his friends in it ran right into him.

 **CRAAAAAAAAAASH!**

The back of the cart bucked, sending the Moblins flying out and off the edge, crashing through the structure of another set of tracks, collapsing it very dramatically.

With it now safe to emerge, Link rose back up, smiling at Medli, impressed. The girl looked at her hand, turning it over and examining it in surprise.

"Medli… Wow! I didn't know you could do that!"

"Shall I slow us down now?"

"If we're at the end, then go ahead!"

Once more, Medli took the lever, sensing that they were at the end of the tunnel.

 **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-! SNAP!**

To its credit, the brake held on for a long while. Unfortunately, right when it was most needed, it snapped clean off. Medli flew back from the momentum and crashed into Link.

"Um… Link?" She sheepishly held up the severed brake as friction smoke started to fill the room.

"Oh, give me a break! Don't worry, Medli, it's not your fault…"

The minecart cornered one last time and barreled down a straight. At the back, Link saw that the tracks ended in a wall made specifically to stop speeding minecarts…

As Medli discarded the broken lever and headed to the back, her friend scrambled over the front of the cart and stood on the wood beam that was meant to collide with buffers. Leaning off the left side, he kicked off the block that the brake would use to stop the vehicle and when it was free, he jammed his foot onto it.

 **PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!**

He could feel the sole of his boot getting hotter and hotter until he could probably take it off and fry an egg on the inside. Smoke forced coughs from both children and when it cleared, the buffers were now within twenty feet of them and that amount was decreasing fast.

"Too fast!" shouted Medli over the sound of leather on stone, "We're going too fast! We're gonna hit the buffers!"

"No, we're not!" Link fought through the searing pain and stomped on the wheel even harder. The screeching got even louder and the smoke and pain got double as ferocious. The burning sensation made the boy yelp a bit, but the minecart was coming more and more to a steady stop. Just as it was about to squeeze Link between the bumpers like a tube of toothpaste, the wheels stopped moving.

At first, Medli looked off the side to see if he had truly stopped them before giving him a great big smile. Link smiled back and chuckled but his face suddenly soured in alarm. Even after he took his foot off the wheel, his boot continued smoking. "Ah! Water! Water! Hot!"

"Fire! Look, look! You're on fire!"

"Water! Where's water?"

"Don't worry! I've got you!" Medli pulled her harp into her arms and hurriedly played a tricky tune. At that moment, Link felt something cold and wet on his face. The song Medli was playing had created a black cloud that doused what could have been a disastrous fire in mere moments.

"Thanks!" the boy panted, sopping wet but safe and sound.

Medli then turned and walked down the hallway, which was much more civilised than the previous room. It had a carpet as well as several normal doors lining the walls like trees on an avenue. She stopped at a door that was more ornately decorated than the rest.

Link opened one of the doors on his left, revealing a cozy little room behind it with a large bed, a bathroom and a pair of French doors, leading out to the view of a mountain range. "Are these the barracks?" he asked.

Medli nodded. "Yes. And this one right here... is where Laruto slept."

* * *

Link and Medli stepped into the room where they were greeted by harsh light from a bright chandelier. "We'll be safe in here." Medli declared.

"I wonder if Laruto ever felt... lonely down here." Link murmured to himself. He looked at the mantelpiece above the double bed, interested by a photo of what appeared to be Laruto with a group of other Zora. "If she ever wanted to leave and see what was outside..."

He turned to see if Medli had heard him, but she had gone out of the French doors and was looking, overwhelmed, at the snow-encrusted mountains in the distance. The earth temple itself appeared to be built on the edge of a mountain opposite that range, which plunged down for quite a while and then straightened. A rural village was down there as well. She could see the snow-covered roofs of the chalets below. This area of Hyrule appeared to be a ski resort, since the pylons of button lifts zipped up and down the slopes.

Link came out and joined her, gasping from the refreshingly cold air and leaning on the balcony with his friend. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Medli responded woodenly. "I was just thinking... this place reminds me of Dragon Roost." A single tear fell from her eye and splattered on the wooden balcony rail. "I miss my home. Please forgive me. I can't help it."

Link had to double take at what he just heard. When he ran it back through in his head, he didn't quite know what to say. He reached over and laid a hand on Medli's shoulder. "Medli... It's your home. It's natural for you to miss it." he gently said.

"As a sage, my new responsibilities must come first. But... does missing my home make me a bad sage?"

Link recoiled, almost knocking against the guard fence behind him. He took a deep breath in and gently rubbed Medli's back. "Not at all. Sages are kind and caring. They don't have to be stoic and unfeeling." For a moment, he paused and then took in a breath. "In fact, I'd say you're the kindest friend I have. You're just always so nice!"

Medli suddenly perked her head up and grinned widely, graciously hugging Link. "Thank you, Link. Thank you so much."

"No problem, no problem!" Link chuckled as they separated. "So, what did we come down here for?"

Medli beckoned him to go inside with her, got onto her hands and knees and reached under the bed, producing a blue and reflective slab from it.

A shield.

"Laruto left this under her bed for 'the chosen hero'… I think she means you. Take a look…"

The shield was primarily made of a reflective, hard material with two birds facing each other etched onto it. Dead in the centre, other than the reflection of Link's face, was the sierpinski triangle that was the full Triforce.

Holding back his emotions, he wordlessly removed his old shield from his back.

"Maybe it's time to take your place in history, champ." he said to it, "We don't want to wreck you before I get back home to-"

He stopped himself there. It was still far too sad to think of Granny. He slid the family shield into his bag and strapped the new one onto his back.

"Hey, it suits you!" Medli noted with a sweet smile.

Link gave back one of his own. "Thanks, Medli." Then, he turned to the French doors and spoke to the skies. "You too, Laruto."

* * *

After uneventful exploring with no enemies or interesting things to speak of, Medli at last led Link into a room that was quite similar to the one where Link was attacked by a sneaky redead. In fact, he had to take a quick look around to make sure there weren't any more.

On the wall directly south, there was a sculpture of a man in a throne but curiously, his face was stylised after the sun. The room itself had no windows, but various cracks and scrapes in the walls and ceiling gave way to a pair of light rays.

"Aha! I know what to do here!" Medli proclaimed confidently. Link watched her as the girl stepped gracefully into one of the rays of light. Then she took her harp into one of her hands and redirected it at one of the statue's eyes. "Link, you do the same with your new shield, all right?"

"Coming!" Link obeyed and took his place next to her, flashing a light onto the statue's other eye.

With both children shining light onto the statue, both sides of its face lit up. It turned yellow, its eyes widened and its mouth curled into a smile. Light filled the room from its afterglow. Not only that, but a secret, spiralling staircase unfolded down from a circular pattern in the floor…

…right where Link was standing.

"Agh!" he yelped, toppling from the first step and bouncing down the rest. Medli quickly noticed, awkwardly sliding her hand over her beak.

"In hindsight, I probably should have been in that spot…"

* * *

At the bottom of the stairs, Medli and a rather dizzy Link faced a significant looking door with a thick skull emblazoned on it. From how it presented itself… this would be the last time Link would see Medli and the last time Medli would see outside.

"Are you coming, Medli, or do you want to stay here?" Link asked.

"Of course I'll go with you!" agreed Medli with a smile, "As our time together has proven, we... kind of need each other in here!"

Link chuckled from her statement. "Oh, I am going to miss you, you know that?"

"We'll discuss that when the clown on the other end is gone." Medli said, though she was grinning with him. "Deal?"

"Deal." Link grabbed one side of the door, Medli took the other and the two pushed them sideways, sidling into Jalhalla's grounds.

* * *

The church itself was dull, boasting dust, rotting wood, bugs, and even vandalism. The companions passed by pews that were partially eaten by termites and continued following the source of a strange, scurrying sound off in the center that Link had picked up on.

 **Skittaskittaskit... Skittaskittaskit...**

It was coming from a stage at the very back of the church. This stage had been used in the past for reenacting famous scenes from Hylian legends. Now it was the playground of... Jalhalla, possibly.

Link stuck his arm out in front of Medli as he noticed a monster escape from the confines of beyond the stage curtain. It resembled an abandoned cabbage-patch doll that had been left in a muddy field in a rainy country for decades and its body seem to be comprised of brightly colored, pajama-like garments.

The sound the curtain made when the creature ran through it sounded again. Then it doubled. Then it quadrupled. Suddenly, fifteen of the things poured out from backstage, the final one dragging a giant, ceramic mask along behind it. With preparations complete, they all started prancing like leprechauns, circling the mask, flipping, singing and some even partnered up to glide along the stage together as if on ice.

Link took a confused step back. "What the- What on earth are we watching?"

Medli, on the other hand, had a panicked disposition. As one of the ghosts stopped dancing to glare at her, she felt a chill up her spine. "That's Jalhalla! Or it WILL be Jalhalla! We need to stop those ghosts before they-" said Medli, but it was too late. The spirits froze, even the ones in midair at that moment, and darted to the mask. All of them dived into an opening at the top. After a nerve-wracking pause, a giant, see-through body formed under the mask.

It was large and grey with clown paint slashed all over it.

The Protector of the Seal.

 **JALHALLA.**

* * *

The ghost materialised a giant lantern out of thin air and shook it like an evil grave digger, laughing madly.

" **HUR HUR HUR HUR HUR!** "

 **CLANGACLANGACLANGACLANGA!**

He turned his small eyes onto the children, who proceeded to dart in opposite directions. First, he focused on attacking Link.

" **Here, boy! Some red hot embers!** " he cackled, shaking his lantern. Several hot embers leaped from the fire inside.

"Ow! Ow! That's hot!" shrieked Link as he hopped up and down, slapping himself all over to put the flames out.

" **Some more treats? All right! Ha ha haaa!** " laughed Jalhalla as he began to take a breath in. In a second, he had filled his lungs with air and blown into his lantern as hard as he could. A jet of flames roared through the air and set the area surrounding Link on fire.

" **AAAAAAAARGH!** I'm on fire! Medli? **MEDLI!** " he shouted over the rising flames.

"Link, where are you? I'm coming!" called Medli from outside. Even over the towering fire, Link could hear Medli taking to the air.

"In the fire! Ow! Please! I'm medium rare!"

After an agonising wait of three seconds, Link felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. Next thing he knew, he was being lifted from the ground. Medli strained and groaned because of her lack of physical strength and Link's weight, but she just managed to hold him above the licking flames.

" **Oh? What have we here? A flying lesson? Wouldn't it be a shame if I… SHOT YOU DOWN?** "

Medli rose higher and higher, still holding Link like a seatbelt. Link could hear her heavy breathing in his ear. It was clear that she couldn't hold him much longer. "We need to find some light! Light solidifies ghosts!" she panted.

"Medli, just hold on a second!" panted Link as he reached into his bag. He pulled out a bomb, which lit automatically immediately. "Just over there!" Link pointed to the area above the massive ghost as it took another big gulp of air.

Medli panicked at the sight of the bomb but flew as hard as she could to the spot of the ceiling that Link had pointed out. Link could see small particles of light trying to break into the room. If he were to help, then maybe he could get the upper hand. The boy paused for a second, waiting for the bomb's fuse to burn down before he threw it at the ceiling.

 **BOOOOOOOOM!**

The bomb exploded, sending the two flipping through the air from the shockwave, but Medli didn't let go of Link.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!** " screamed Jalhalla as he thrashed wildly in the light. Before he knew it, he was no longer intangible.

" **How dare you?** "

In one second, Jalhalla had lost every single shred of comedy in his personality. He shook his lantern furiously to try and burn the children out of the air. Medli zipped in and out of the fiery charcoal, still with Link in her arms beneath her. Like some weird mutation of Cupid, Link drew his bow and fired. An arrow flew through the air and pierced into Jalhalla's stomach. With the sound of a balloon bursting, Jalhalla exploded into fifteen ghosts, screaming deathly murder all the way down. Sensing their end, the ghosts scuttled around to escape.

"You can put me down now!" said Link. Medli did so and let her arms hang loose from exhaustion. "I can handle this!"

Link dashed into the circle of light. Holding his shield up, he spun around. In one fell swoop, all of the Poes exploded into ashes from the light.

The mask opened its eyes again.

" **Are you ready for round two? If I can just… Oh...** " The mask quickly realised that it had no paraphernalia to regrow to normal. " **Crud!** "

The mask began scuttling around the room before it floated up to escape. Link could see that it was quickly fading into nothing. "Oh, no you don't!" he grunted, lighting another bomb and kicking it at the ceiling like a football. With a loud boom, it blew another hole in the ceiling, making another hole of light directly above the mask.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

The mask screamed and solidified before it fell to the floor, smashing through the floor of the stage and shattering into shards of ceramic. The two children panted from exhaustion. Link almost sank to the floor before he realised that he still had to leave the temple first.

And Medli.

Ouch.

* * *

"It is time, Link." said Medli, solemnly. "Place the Master Sword in the middle of those golden triangles and conduct the Earth God's Lyric."

Link walked into the Triforce emblem that was on the floor and placed his sword upside down into the little slit in the middle. He then stepped to face his friend and began conducting her.

As she played, the spirit of Laruto slowly came into vision and played alongside her. Link suppressed his surprise in favour of conducting. The ghost of the world's last Zora flavoured the melody with fourths, fifths more. The graceful notes swirled around the trio and the Master Sword. When the song was complete, the trio stopped the performance. Laruto, her purpose fulfilled, faded into golden specks of light and disappeared to her next life.

"You may… take the Master Sword now, Link." murmured Medli.

Link did not need to be told again. He entered the triangle once more and pulled out the sword.

Nothing seemed too different.

Link moved it around to see if it had worked when suddenly,

 **WHOOOOSH!**

With a gust of wind, the bird on the hilt of the sword spread its wings, the jewel just before the blade lit into a very faint yellow and the blade got a little more shiny.

No doubt about it, the praying had worked.

"Thank you, Medli." said Link, sheathing his new sword.

"I've only done **my** job." she said, her smile dropping a little. "Now you have to find the next sage, the sage of Wind, and bring them to their temple."

The Triforce on the floor began to light up. It now appeared to be a portal. Stepping in it would surely whisk Link outside.

"So… This… is where we say... goodbye, I suppose." said Link, his voice cracking. He began to dig in his Spoils Bag. "Here. Something to remember us all by. I hope you... I hope... I hope you like it." Link took out one of the golden feathers that he had pinched from the bird, but a single tear rolled down his face.

Medli wasn't doing much better. As shy as she was, the girl hated goodbyes. Somehow, she found it to take the feather and examine its golden quills and psychedelic colours. Winged girls were always infatuated by them and she was no exception. A tear welling in her eye, she placed the feather in her hair band, then rushed forward and hugged Link tightly. Link returned her embrace, his eyes now welling much more prominently.

"Medli... I… I'm glad I met you." Link breathed, stepping back and wiping his eyes.

"I'm glad as well. I'm glad we met you. I will forever think of you as the Hero that saved Dragon Roost Island."

"And... I hope I'm right in this, but I feel that this isn't our last goodbye. We'll meet again some day."

"Yes… I'm getting that feeling too." Medli replied, wiping more tears from her face. She then stood with an upright posture and took some deep breaths to calm herself.

Link slowly walked towards the glowing Triforce, taking one last look at his friend over his shoulder. There she stood, out of the blue, twinkling light. She was skinny, pale and frail, but she wasn't as frail as she used to be, having proven herself. she held her harp in one arm and stood delicately, looking at him with her crimson eyes. There was something accepting and angelic in her expression as if she was in some kind of trance, but Link, deep down, knew she wasn't. She had accepted her fate to stay in the Earth Temple for the rest of her life, for always and for always.

Seeing this expression didn't help Link keep in his emotions, to say the least. To get everything over with, he waved his friend goodbye and stepped into the Triforce. He slowly began to rise from the ground.

"Link?" squeaked Medli's voice from outside the vortex. Link stopped hanging limply and turned upside down, swimming back the way he came to counter the current.

"Yes?" he panted. He was slowly but surely losing his battle with the inverted gravity. Medli put a hand over her heart one more time.

"Seeing as I'm not coming back home, can you please look after Prince Komali for me?"

Link smiled at her and tried to reply, but...

 **ZZZZT!**

A flash of light made Link close his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back in the cave of Headstone Island.

"Yes, miss. I will do that." whispered Link softly as he slowly walked out of the cave. Even though the King waited outside, he still got an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. "Goodbye, Medli. Thank you for everything."


	26. A Giant Pair Of Jaws

"I've… done it." sighed Link as he crunched unevenly along the stony beach. His boat was waiting for him. The boy drew his sword to prove his statement.

"Excellent. Did you come across anything?" asked the King.

"Yes. In fact, I discovered that Medli is quite a good companion for that sort of thing. She seemed to know what she was doing and... she also saved my life from being stolen by Jalhalla... I miss her already."

The King smiled at Link with a look of pity in his eyes, but also with a proud curve of his mouth. "Do you want to know our next destination?"

Link nodded.

"Our next stop is Gale Isle. It is directly north of Windfall Island, so we can stop there if you need to get any supplies." said the King. He turned in the direction they needed to go.

"All right… Let's go." yawned Link. The King turned his figurehead.

"Link, are you sure you can stay awake for this whole trip? You can take a nap if you want."

"No thanks. I can make it. I'll be just fine." replied Link as he stretched his eyelids open as far as possible.

"I shall tell you when we reach Windfall. Then you can decide if we stop." said the King softly. Link activated his sail and whizzed off into the night.

* * *

"We are at Windfall. Do you need to go and buy anything?" asked the King an hour later as a rotating beam of light from Windfall's lighthouse rose from the horizon. The sun had risen since he had left Headstone, so that must have meant it must have been the early hours of the morning when he left. He looked at the approaching island and nodded. Grabbing the tiller, he stomped the sail down and braked at the dock.

 _"_ _I hope that beggar got his daughter back."_ thought Link, remembering the starving man from before, disembarking onto the jetty and walking into the town. Already, he could see that it was bustling. Even in the early hours of morning. One thing caught his eye, a large man sitting under a tree, dressed in rags. A girl with blonde hair sat by him, also poorly dressed.

" _Wait, is that…? No, it can't be."_ Link wondered closer to the two. Getting closer, he saw that the poor people under the tree were none other than the former rich ones in town:

Mr. Bradford and Mila.

"Mr. Bradford? What are you doing here?" exclaimed the boy as he hastily walked over. "I thought you had... a house and a boat and a pheasant and a robe and... what happened to you?"

Despite the fact that the man was no longer rich, he still sounded like an exquisite lord. "As you can see, I have fallen upon hard times. My daughter was returned by a bunch of pirates, but I spent all the money I had on search parties. None of them could get through the Forsaken Fortress..." he said sadly. Mila was completely motionless.

"Are you doing all right? Have you eaten?" asked Link. He had fed a poor man before and he was perfectly willing to do it again.

"What? Oh, oh no! I have! Mila and I have landed a job at Zunari's shop up there. We are now on our break." said Mr. Bradford.

"Well, I hope you can make your money back."

"A daughter is more important than money." replied the man. Link stopped in his tracks. Did he, the former richest man on the island, really just acknowledge that? Mr. Bradford continued. "You can make money back, but you don't know how much your child means until they're gone."

Mr. Bradford looked down at Mila, who was fast asleep beside him.

"Oh, did you hear? I've heard Cannon the Bomb Shop owner is turning over a new leaf! Some miner just went in and said he seemed like a completely different person!" said the man as he pointed to the Bomb Shop.

 **WHAT?**

Link turned around to look at Cannon's bomb shop. It had received quite the makeover. In the past, it was just a brick building. Now, it was covered in cardboard cut-outs of explosions as well as a big 'Welcome' sign. Link had always wanted to avoid the Bomb Shop as much as possible, but now he was being drawn inside. He needed to pick up more bombs because who knows when he needed to fight another one of those Big Octos?

 **CREEEEAAAAK!**

 **Ding-a-ling!**

One Link was inside, he noticed another man with a girl talking to the owner.

"I must say, I need some bombs, my good man! I'm going mining in the sea rocks!" said the man. He was holding a cane with a red, velvet coat and a red top hat. His daughter was wearing an opulent, purple dress and some strange headwear that made her look like she had rabbit ears.

"Good! Sounds like great fun, man! Enjoy it, you hear? How many bombs? Ten for ten, twenty for twenty and thirty for thirty! Simple pricing!" said the owner. Link scratched his ear. Was this real? Was he dreaming?

"Thirty, please! I'm going to need it!"

"Sold!"

The vendor pushed thirty bombs across the counter. The man slowly put them all into six massive bags. Two minutes later, he turned around. Link's jaw dropped. It was that same beggar that he had fed in the streets a while ago. How had he made so much money in a matter of days?

"Margaret, darling, those necklaces you bought from the Forsaken Fortress were very valuable! I am so glad you bought them back!" he waffled as he began to walk to the exit.

Margaret?

Wait, was that the poor girl at the Forsaken Fortress?

Link moved out of the way as the man gently pushed the door open and marched down the street. "Um… Hello, sir." he said gingerly to the owner. He stepped to the desk.

"Why, if it isn't you again! What would you like to buy, good sir?"

Link was a little startled by this straight-to-the-point attitude. "Um… ten bombs. I need to refill my stock for my sea travels... Dangerous waters where I'm going, you know?"

"Certainly! And for you, the one who saved my business, I'll throw in a discount!" said Cannon. He reached under his desk and-

Wait.

"What?" stuttered Link.

"Of course! You untied me that time and made me realise the error of my ways! My business WAS struggling because of my overpriced bombs! For that, these will only cost five rupees! Just a heads-up, kid! These bombs don't need no fuse to light! All they need is a light tap on the top!"

Link was almost speechless. As if in a trance, he pulled out a blue rupee, worth five, and placed it on the desk. With difficulty, he picked up the bombs, thanked the owner and wobbled out of the shop, taking care not to drop them. When he was sure he was out of sight, he stuffed them all into his bag. He did NOT want to explain his bottomless bag again.

" _Where should I go next?"_ thought Link as he looked at the big gate, bustling with shoppers. He felt a gurgling in his gut. "I have an idea!"

* * *

Within minutes, Link had found the Windfall Island Café and was at the desk with his wallet out.

"One custard slice again, please!" requested Link. The bartender rummaged in the basket and pulled out his cake.

"That's fifteen rupees, please!" said the bartender with a smile. Link immediately slammed fifteen onto the table. "Enjoy!"

Link did as he was told. He sat at the table and pulled the wrapping off. He took a bite out of the custard slice. It was several crunchy layers topped with swirled icing. It tasted absolutely brilliant.

Speaking of brilliant, a colourful bird of varying colours came flapping in through the window. This bird, however, did not look like the King of Rock and Roll had risen from the grave and got transformed into a bird like the last one did. Instead, it looked like a pharaoh had busted out of his pyramid... and then got turned into a bird. He had a gold and black crest that wrapped around the sides of his head. His front was blue, his lower back was gold, his upper back was an iridescent green-black colour and he had a massive, brown tail.

"Oh! It's Mr. Clarence's new Golden Pheasant! What can I get for you today?" The bird flew over to the counter and dropped a note onto the desk. "'One Victoria Sponge slice please, my good ma'am.'" read the bartender. "Coming right up!"

The bird waited patiently as the woman ducked behind the counter and pulled out a pale yellow slice of cake, dusted with white icing and garnished with a strawberry.

"Fifty rupees, please!"

The bird dropped a purple rupee onto the desk as the bartender bagged the cake and carefully placed the bag onto the birds back. He turned, spread his wings, wobbled a little to balance the bag and then shot off out of the window once again. Unfortunately, it neglected to check if it was the same one it used to enter because he flew straight through a pane of glass.

 **SSSSSSSSSMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

"What on earth was that?" gawked Link. Suddenly, he heard humming below him. Something brushed against his leg. He looked down and saw another bird with calligraphic patterns on his wings, a tray on his back and a pompadour crest.

"Cranston?" said Link incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

It was Mr. Bradford's bird.

Cranston looked up at him as if he expected him to order something.

"Oh, right! Cranston has got a job at the café! He makes us the only café to have working animals! Don't worry! He's hygienic!" revealed the bartender. "That golden bird was a Golden Pheasant. He belongs to that man who just recently became rich from selling necklaces!"

Link looked down at Cranston in confusion. "Sorry! I've already ordered!"

Appearing to understand, the bird wobbled on down the café to take down some more orders.

What's going on? Did I just pop in a Disney movie by mistake?

Link was equally baffled at this. He finished his custard slice, stood up and left the café. As strange as it had become, Windfall Island had definitely taken a good turn.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" asked the King when no one was watching. Link approached him and jumped aboard.

"The poor man and the rich man have swapped roles, the former rich man's bird is now working in the café and the Bomb Shop Owner has changed his ways!" explained Link. The King raised an eyebrow.

"Fascinating." he mused. "Things can change, I suppose."

"So, how far to the next island?" asked Link, looking in the direction he would have gone in had he not stopped.

"I calculate about two minutes."

"All right! Let's go!"

* * *

"Land! Look! It's over there!" called the King as the boat sped towards a small island in the distance. "Gale Isle! That is where you must go!"

The island was made up of boulders, white sand and weak flora with a cave at the back. When Link disembarked, the sand didn't get in his boots. Thank goodness! It felt nicer than the stones at Headstone Isle.

"Link, this is the entrance to the second temple: The Wind Temple. You should find a sage in here if he's still alive." said the King. "...I'm not holding my breath, but I hope to the gods that he's safe."

"Got it. If I find another stone tablet, I'll learn the song off of there." replied the boy, turning and heading off up the beach.

"Oh! Boy! Look out for-"

 **WHOOOOOOOOSH!**

A massive blast of wind shot out of the cave entrance and almost threw Link of balance.

"Look out for strong winds." finished the King. Link sprinted into the cave while the wind source recharged itself.

* * *

As Link ran inside the cave, he heard the wind blowing again. This time, it didn't affect him. The wind did kick sand into the air outside and ruffle the flora, but Link didn't feel a thing. The wind must have been coming directly from the door.

This cave was pretty much no different to the last one. The only difference was a small pile of leaves on the floor.

Yes, that meant there was another stone tablet against the wall. Link groaned in frustration and blew the dust off of the music staff on the tablet, just like last time.

Six notes were revealed, but they were different from the Earth God's Lyric. With no time to lose, Link pulled out the Wind Waker and moved his hand to the right.

" _Up, up, down, right, left, right."_ thought Link as he read the notes. Clearing his throat, he began to move the baton.

 **Up, up, down, right, left, right!**

This pattern produced a melody that started with high notes and ended with a soaring flourish.

 **Fsssssssssshhhhhhhh…**

Link felt a breeze ruffle his hair.

"Sage? Sage? Are you there? Are you OK?"

Link turned around. The pile of leaves that lay on the floor slowly rose into the air with a gust of wind and connecting to each other to form a humanoid shape. The shape began to dance around, holding a violin in its hands. The leaves faded out and in faded…

a boy that looked around Link's age. He had a green hat, blonde hair and green clothes. Link rubbed his eyes. Was he looking in a full-length mirror?

"Czy jesteś tym z Mistrzowski Miecz?" said the boy. He had quite a high voice and the sounds he made hardly matched how they translated to writing.

" _Not another foreign language!"_ thought Link. This was getting confusing again.

"Co jest nie tak? Nie możesz zrozumieć polskiego?"

"Sorry! I can't understand that!" replied Link.

"Oh, I'm sorry! You look like one of my kind, so I assumed you knew Polish." clarified the boy, sighing in embarrassment. "My kind learned a language called Polish after the earlier defeat of Ganondorf. It was spoken in our parallel world in a country called Poland." he explained. The boy eyed Link. "So, are you the new hero? The one with the Master Sword?"

Link lifted the half-powered Master Sword to show the boy.

"Yes. Here it is. Are you the Sage of this temple?" inquired Link. The boy nodded his head. "Are you alive?" Right after that statement, he froze and sighed a little.

"I… was. My name was Fado. I was the sage of this temple."

Once again, Link caught onto the use of the word 'was'.

"So… I was too late." he muttered. The ghost floated over to him.

"Don't blame yourself. I used to pray in the Wind Temple for ages to power your sword, but Ganondorf must have found out my importance. He sent a monster after me and… now I look like this. It happened long before you drew the blade. Long before you even started your journey."

Link sheathed the Master Sword. "Do you know what this monster looked like?"

"All I saw was the room filling with sand, a giant pair of jaws and then… I can't remember. Sorry."

"A giant pair of jaws? Uh-oh!" shuddered Link, thinking of having to face that thing. Kalle Demos' jaws were bad enough, but MASSIVE jaws?

"I wouldn't worry about it. If you come back here with a new sage, I'm sure you'll make quick work of it." reassured Fado. He floated back a little.

"But what is the name of your race? If I know, I can find someone to take your place."

"I am a Kokiri. Unfortunately, there are no more Kokiri in the world. The old Great Deku Tree produced Kokiri. His sprout, the Great Deku Tree Sprout, produces-"

The answer snapped to Link like a magnet to a fridge. "Koroks! The Kokiri are now Koroks! I got it!"

"Well, I say! You got it! Well done!" beamed Fado. He held his bow and violin out. The bow had a pair of fruit hanging from the top and the violin was made out of some kind of leaf. "My descendant will be carrying this instrument, though he is too small to carry it as I do. If you can find him, bring him in here and conduct the song you just learned: The Wind God's Aria." said Fado.

"Right! I think I know who this is, and it kind of hurts, but I won't let you down!" declared Link. He saluted the spirit.

The ghost let out a smile. Suddenly, he turned back into the leaves that settled on the floor as Link came in. The leaves flopped to the floor. The wind of the spirit sighed in relief as it blew through the cave.

"Dziękuję Ci." came the last trace of his voice. It still didn't really sound like how you see it.

Link bowed to the leaves on the floor and dashed out of the cave.

* * *

"Sire! Sire! It happened again!" babbled Link as he dashed out onto the beach, waving his arms again.

 **WHOOOOOOOOSH!**

A thunderous blast of air launched Link face-first into the sand. "It happened again..." he murmured. He pulled himself up and sprinted to the King.

"Sir! The other sage is dead!" panted the boy, climbing into his boat. "That is messed up! Ganondorf just killed a... He killed a child!"

"Link, do you know about the Kokiri?" asked the King.

"Well, they came from a different Deku Tree. They didn't really evolve."

"Oh. Well… the Kokiri could get older and older and older, yet they would still look like children. It might not soften it much, but the sage in there was much older than he looked. He has been praying for decades and decades..." the boat explained. Once again, his eyebrows fell and his mouth drooped. "...but now the flame of his life has been snuffed out, unfortunately. Do you have any idea of who his descendant is?"

"I think it's… Makar."

The King cringed a little. "Oh, dear. Another one of your good friends. Once again… I am sorry, lad."

The boy and his boat fell silent.

"Well, I now know that having them play the sage's song will make them realise what they have to do. Last time, I thought that things would get ugly. That's what it was." assured Link, more to himself than to the boat. The King looked in the direction of Forest Haven.

"Forest Haven, then?" he suggested. Link nodded.

"Yes. Forest Haven."

Link was glad that they left it at that.

* * *

The boat sped across the waters once more, the sun rising further and further into the air. Three quarters of an hour later, Forest Haven began to loom into view. Seeing the Forbidden Woods again gave Link a flashback of when he and Makar almost became plant food. Bashing down this memory, Link stopped the boat and stepped onto the grass.

"Now, my boy, just like last time, find Makar, maybe talk a bit and conduct the Wind God's Aria for him. He should be just fine. He shall awaken as a sage and be perfectly willing to go to the Wind Temple with you. Have you got that?" said the King, moving his head forwards.

"Yes. I understand. I know what to do. I just need to find him."

Link headed up the grassy path to the little pond that was being filled by a waterfall. A rainbow was being created in the middle. It may have just been his head, but he could hear music being played from the water splashing into the pond.

 **Haaaaaw, heeeeee, haaaaaa, haaaaa, heeeeeee, heeeeee, heeeee, haaaaw, haaaaw…**

It almost sounded like… a violin. Was Makar taking a shower and playing a violin at the same time? No. He can't have been Why would you play an instrument in the shower unless you had a really bad obsession with music? Link gazed into one of the waterfalls. When his eyes adjusted, he could see a passageway that went through the waterfall and into a cave.

Could that be it?

Link peered into the air at the branch he had once used to swing to the top of the waterfall.

" _I wonder if I can reach that from here..."_

Link reached into his bag and pulled out his Grappling Hook with a pang of guilt as he thought of Medli. He spun and flung it into the air and it just about wrapped around the branch. Link shot through the air and crashed through the waterfall.

 **SPLASH!**


	27. Sand, Sand And More Sand

**HEEEEE, HEEEEE, HAAAAW, HAAAAAW, HEEEEE, HEEEEE…**

Link got up and shook water off his clothes. Makar was definitely in this cave.

The boy walked through the cave. Moss decorated the white, stone walls. The floor was surrounded by a stream on either side. Finally, he slid down a ladder onto a large platform in a widened part of the cave. In amongst all the flora was a little, wooden critter, looking like a turnip with legs. With a leaf mask on his face and the same pair of instruments that Fado had, it was clear that Makar truly was the Sage of Wind.

"Hoy." said Link. Makar suddenly leaped into the air, his enormous violin clonking to the floor.

" **Yaaa!** Link! You scared me! Where did you come from?" he squeaked. He struggled to pull his instrument upright again. When he did, it nearly fell the other way and almost squashed him underneath it.

"Sorry about that! I just heard music playing from the waterfall and it made me find this cave." explained Link.

Makar briefly looked stunned. He looked at the roaring waterfall, then his violin. "Wait, you heard that? I was practising my music, so I decided to go here and hope that the sound of the waterfall would drown it out. I guess I underestimated this thing." chattered Makar. "So, how have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"

Link explained **EVERYTHING** to Makar that he had missed. Medli already knew about how Aryll was safe and she also got to talk with him the first time Link arrived at her respective island so he had to explain less to her when she was due to awaken as a sage. Makar didn't, however, since Link only met him at the very end of his first time at Forest Haven. Because of this, Link essentially had to recap all that had happened before and after he met the little Korok.

"Oh, my! That sounds interesting!" chirped Makar. "And I've noticed you have a new sword! A new shield too! My, oh, my, I'm glad to see you! I'm glad to see you!"

Link forced a thin-eyed smile. "It's good to see you again... How have you been doing?"

"I've been practicing my music! Composing, practicing, playing, all is very important for next year's carnival!"

Another needle of guilt lightly jabbed Link. Makar had an extra special role among the other Koroks. What on earth would they do without him? There came that horrid, guilty feeling once more. He felt like he was an assassin that was hired to take out two people, only to find out they were close friends of his. Wait, no, what am I saying? He knew they would be able to go back to their normal lives, despite what the King said...

...

...right?

"Look what I've got here, Makar. Perhaps I could be of help to you..." His hand slipped into his bag and out came the Wind Waker, air slipping from the tip like ink from a pen.

Makar eyed the white, glowing baton, his brown eyes shining with amazement. "Oh! Oh! Oh! A conductor's baton! Link! Are you a maestro?" he panted like an excited dog.

Link frowned in confusion. "A what?"

"A maestro! The conductor of a band! Can you conduct me in a song, Link? Pretty please with sprinkles on top!"

Even though Link knew this was coming, it still made his heart crash to the floor. He looked at the little critter in front of him. He was looking up with anticipation, trust and excitement...

"Right! Good idea! I'll conduct, you follow!"

With a barely audible sigh of guilt, Link conducted the Wind God's Aria for Makar. The Korok looked up at him in delight and immediately followed along, getting faster and faster as he went.

 **Dee, dee diddly dee, de diddly, diddly diddly dee, deedeedeediddlydiddledeedeediddly…**

Makar continued getting faster and faster and faster until he played so fast that Link could barely tell that it was the same song any more. Suddenly, a faint outline of a boy started to fade into the scene. It was Fado. He played along at an equal speed holding his violin properly, rather than like a cello. Link sweated a little from dread of having to conduct at such a fast speed but he tried anyway.

 **Up, up, down, right, left, right, Up, up, down, right, left, right, UpUpDownRightLeftRightUpUpDownRightLeftRightUpUpDownRightLeftRightUpUpDownRightLeftRightUPUPDOWNRIGHTLEFTRIGHTUPUPDOWNRIGHTLEFTRIGHTUPUPDOWNRIGHTLEFTRIGHT…**

Finally, the trio finished. Link let his arm hang loose and puffed breathlessly as Fado turned to the wall and bowed as if there was an invisible audience there. Letting his weariness work into his mind, Link turned and bowed with him. The boy looked back at Makar.

Like when Medli had awakened from her dream, his eyes looked like he had just seen a ghoul but they simultaneously had a jubilant flare to them.

"Link… how did you know...? Meine Güte... My ancestor came to me and told me about what I must do... as a new sage to replace him. You knew about that?" he said.

Link smiled sadly. "Yes. That's what I came here for in the first place. I'm… sorry."

Makar lowered slightly, but he quickly snapped upright, shaking his head like he was snapping out of a spell. "No! It's fine! Link, you must take me to the Wind Temple! I can finally be useful for once!" chirped Makar. He waddled towards Link, looking at him with trust and a little nervousness.

"Do you want to say goodbye to all the Koroks? This may be your last chance. What about the Great Deku Tree?" advised Link, bending to his friend's level.

"I don't like saying this, but I think he knew about this. He said I was a special Korok ever since I was little. I thought he was trying to cheer me up most of the time. I never thought he meant something like this! It's better this way... And as for my Korok peers... I can't even speak German like them... This will make up for it."

Link nodded in understanding. "All right. I understand. I'll take you to Gale Isle in perfect secrecy, Sage of Wind."

* * *

Link escorted the Korok out of the waterfall and through the pond. When Makar emerged, he saw the King of Red Lions, proudly floating in the water.

"So, you're the Sage of Wind, are you?" chuckled the King. Makar nodded his whole body.

"Yes. I'm ready to ease the regrets of my ancestors and completely restore the Master Sword's power. I am… not worried about spending the rest of my life there, but I am worried about what has happened to the temple. Fado gave me a vision." assured the Korok.

The King raised his eyebrow. "Really? Tell us, what did you see?"

Makar rested his leaf against his stubby arm as if thinking. "All I saw was a load of sand, sand and more sand."

"I see… It seems the monster that was sent after Fado is some kind of… sand monster."

Link and Makar climbed onto the boat in silence. The former held the latter under his arm to keep him steady and the boat shot off northwest.

* * *

As with Medli, Makar was rather quiet on his way to Gale Isle. All he was looking at was the sky.

…

…

…

Link tried to talk to the King of Red Lions to pass the time. "Sire?"

"Yes, my boy?"

"Why exactly were all those seagulls surrounding that Big Octo earlier?"

The King seemed intrigued by the question. "Well, Big Octos eat other sea monsters that live in the sea. The seagulls can smell the monsters inside the Big Octo and surround it to try and find them."

Link unwrapped a green chart. "Well, according to that chart I got from… Tinkle? That guy in the green, we are in the quadrant of a Great Fairy. Maybe she's been caught by another-

 **Plop, Plop, Plop, Plop, Plop, Plop, Plop…**

 **SPLASH!**

" **AAAAAAARRRRGHLEWAAAAAAAAAAARRR!** "

This time, a Big Octo was not the concern. This was a large, floating purple and black whale with four tentacle-like fins, large lips, a horned nose and six eyes dotted all down its sides.

"Oh, goodness!" the King spluttered. "I didn't think about this! Link, those monsters are more dangerous than Big Octo's!"

"Well, how do we beat it?" Makar squealed. Time was swiftly running low. The whale had spotted its newfound prey and had dipped into the water, rocketing through it like a motorboat. One hit would ram the ship upside down and who knows what would happen then.

"We blast at its eyes! Quickly, now! Link, the cannon!" As quickly as he was speaking, the King deployed his cannon. "Aim for its eyes!"

"Right!" Link responded, "Makar, you get behind me and don't fall off! We don't want you getting eaten again!"

"No, not again! Please get rid of it, Link! I don't like monsters!" Makar whimpered. He shuffled behind Link and hugged the back of his leg.

"Aim... fire!"

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!**

A bomb shot through the air, the very air around it burning, and it scored a blank hit. It completely missed the monster's eyes. Instead, the whale cruised around and took the hit head on. None of its eyes lay around there. Seizing its opportunity, it dipped into the sea and motored towards the boat, spraying water to its sides.

"Link! Another bomb! Strike it in the face! Shoot one in its mouth!" the King ordered as the whale steamed closer and closer, its mouth gaping and moaning gutterally.

As soon as the cannon clicked to signal it had reloaded, the boy fired yet another cannonball, but he was not aiming for the monster's eyes. The bomb vanished into its vibrating gullet, prompting the creature to slam its mouth shut and as it did, a muffled boom rang across the sea like the distant strike of lightning. It jolted upward, turning sideways and roaring with smoke billowing from its mouth. Link pressed the tiller once more. This bomb cut through the air and struck the monster in three of its eyes. Another pained cry rang out from it as the next bomb flew through the air and struck its head.

Then there was silence.

The whale dropped, hitting the water and lowering to a watery grave, only three of its eyes undamaged. A distant darkening in the water implied that it vanished in the depths and then...

 **SPLASH!**

After a long pause, another Great Fairy came splashing out of the water, giggling in joy. Even though he expected it, Link jumped from the arrival due to the pause.

"Oh, Hero, chosen by the Master Sword..." started the fairy. "Thank you for freeing me from that prison. I trust you have met with my sister?"

Link bowed to the fairy. Makar did the same. "Yes, your highness. She is safe. I don't think any more Great Fairies are in jeopardy today.

"Then... let me assist you on your last quest. I shall increase your magical energy, so you can glide on the wind for much longer periods than you previously could. You will need it for the journey ahead.

With a big puff of air, the fairy let loose a blast of petals, just like the last one. They surrounded Link and eased his worries and weariness.

"Thank you, your highness. I shall make use of it." said Link as he bowed once again. Laughing, the Great Fairy vanished in a spray of light.

"That was the last sea monster. It should all be smooth sailing from here." said the King, looking back at Link. The boy activated the sail and kept going. He had made quick work of the enemy.

* * *

Now that they had nothing to worry about, Makar seemed to feel much more comfortable as the boat bounced across the blue. He stared in fascination at the passing islands.

"Ooh!" he hummed as they passed a shallow island in the shape of a crescent moon.

"Aah!" he trilled as they sailed by a tall, rocky island.

"EEEEEEEEEEEE! Concrete trees!" he squealed as they whizzed past-

Wait, what?

Link followed his friend's gaze and his eyes settled on Windfall. "Oh, those aren't trees. They are called buildings." he explained. "People live in them. They can also exchange things in some of them. That island means we're nearly there!"

"Yes, Makar." chimed in the King. "Being a sage is a great responsibility, as I said with the other sage before. If you just stick with Link throughout the temple, you should stay safe."

Link saw the island approaching in the distance. "We're here." he said to Makar. The boat began to slow down as the water got shallower and shallower. Finally, he came to rest near the white sand. Link hopped onto the island and helped Makar.

"Right, you two. Link, I've told you this before, but..." started the King. He turned to Makar. "Makar. Stick with Link throughout the temple. Warn him of dangers. If you work together, you should both be just fine."

Makar gave the best salute he could. "Yes… Mr. Talking Boat?" he faltered. Link crouched to his level.

"Sire." he whispered. Makar nodded his body and saluted again.

"Yes, fire!"

The three burst out laughing at this mishearing before Link turned and led Makar up the path. He was getting this dreading feeling that Ganondorf was getting closer and closer to finding Zelda.

"Eep! Wait for me, Link!" cried Makar as he turned and sprinted after Link, tripping over the little sand lumps that were like large mounds to him. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind blasted from the cave entrance. Link stood his ground but Makar went rolling backwards, becoming part of a ball of sand. By this point, Link had noticed. He ran back to him and picked up the ball of sand. He scooped Makar out of it as the King stifled his laughter. "Sorry! I forgot about the wind!" he apologised. "Hold on! I'll get us through this!" With that, he placed the Korok on his shoulder and kept moving.

 **WHOOOOSH!**

Yet another gust of wind blasted across the island. Link supported Makar and leaned forward until the wind stopped. When it did, he dashed into the cave before another blast came out.

* * *

"Sorry about that!" said Link with a nervous laugh. Makar hopped onto the floor and advanced towards the giant stone tablet in the middle of the room.

"Do you know what to do here?" he asked Link knowingly, materialising his instrument. Link pulled out the Wind Waker and advanced to the stone tablet.

"Are you ready? Three, two, one..."

Link began conducting and Makar began playing. Thankfully, Link did not have to conduct like he was trying to swat a fly with a rolled-up newspaper this time. Makar played normally and so Link conducted normally.

Just as expected, the stone split vertically and horizontally before smashing to the ground.

 **CRASH! RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE!**

The dust was swept out the room, revealing the entrance to the temple.

Looking into it gave Link a little jolt of horror. It was just another regular cave with a dais.

Of course, this meant another plummet.

"Ooh! Are we there already?" squeaked Makar as he waddled into the cave at high speed.

"No, Makar. This is only the entrance to the temple. It is a very long way down." stated Link, staring into the depths of the hole. Makar suddenly froze. He stayed that way for a few seconds.

"Oh, no." he muttered. Link looked at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry! I'll go first if you want so I can warn you about traps. You have your… spinny leaf thing, right?"

Makar slowly turned to look at him, his black eyes wide with fright. "Link… it's not that. I am fine with the jump and all that, but I just got another vision." he stammered. Link winced. What had he seen this time? "The whole temple is filled with sand! And there is a monster at the end of it! A giant sand snake by the name of Molgera!"

Link lowered his head. The temple was on the brink of destruction. _"We have to move right now!"_ he thought.

"Makar, I'm going down, so-" he started, but before he could finish his sentence, Makar leaped into the hole.

" **Aaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!** " screeched the Korok as he plunged out of sight. Link watched him fall in shock before standing at the ledge.

"There's better not be anything waiting down there!" mumbled the boy before holding his breath and leaping down the hole. This time, he didn't scream at all. He had gotten used to this already. The stone walls suddenly started bending around him and smoothing out, unlike Medli's temple. This formed a circular slide and Link found himself sliding faster than he ever thought he'd move in his lifetime. Waterslides hadn't been invented yet, so for a moment the sensation of travelling so fast on his bottom was fun. However, since there was no water, his bottom became hotter and hotter as he rubbed against the ground. Then, with little to no warning, the ride ended. The boy was flung through the air and into a pile of glittering, golden sand.

* * *

Link stared at the twinkling sand underneath him and then up at the giant shaft he had just come from. He couldn't see much because of the dark but he could sense that Makar was around. He could hear him rummaging under the sand.

"Makar? Are you all right?" called Link as he looked around the room. He was praying that he hadn't got his bark peeled off because of the rough ride. With a ruffle of sand, Makar rose to the surface. Even after two seconds of seeing him, Link could see that the little guy was in tears.

"Makar! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" gasped Link as he ran over to check on him. He pulled him out of the sand and dusted him off.

"Molgera… She's destroyed everything." he whimpered. "I'm getting more of Fado's memories. This place used to be a thriving temple where the Hylians went to worship. It had flora everywhere. Growing out of the walls, on the ground, on the ceiling, now Molgera has ruined everything!"

Link hugged the Korok for some much needed comfort. "Don't you worry. We shall storm this place together. Furthermore, we'll take this monster out. She's doomed. She won't last two minutes with me, OK?"

Makar looked up. "Yeah… I feel a little better now."

"Now let's go. We can save this place. I'm sure of it."

With that, Link scanned the room for any sight of where to go and walked towards the first door he saw. With a heave, he lifted the door up, let Makar walk through and then slid after him.

As I said before, the Temple was covered in sand. It looked more like a desert temple than a Wind Temple. Good thing it was the latter, because plants like Makar could **not** have too much sunlight

"Makar, sand or not, this is still the Wind Temple. I think we should be on the lookout for sandstorms." suggested Link. Makar nodded his body. It was obvious that what Makar had said was true. The air smelled hot like a desert and whatever remaining flora that was left in the temple was dying. This temple had all the wind knocked out of it.

The room they were in was rather large and cylindrical. There were several alcoves at varying altitudes of the wall. These all lead to different doors. At the bottom was a giant grate that hid something underneath it.

"So, where is the monster that cursed this place?" asked Link. Makar toddled to the edge and lay down peering over. Link posed, ready to run after him if he fell.

"Molgera is at the lowest part of the dungeon, walled off by that grate down there. If we can move it, then we can get to her." explained Makar in a dead serious voice. He sounded like he was going to pull a blackboard from the sidelines and whack at crude diagrams with a stick.

"And how would we do that?"

"In one of the rooms, there is some kind of monster whose magic is keeping the grate locked. If we beat him, part of the grate will turn, letting us through. There is also a fan underneath the grates that we will need to miss at all-"

 **WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!**

A massive blast of wind interrupted Makar. Link could see the weak flora attached to the walls lifting upwards from the blast. After five seconds, it slowed to a stop.

Makar continued as if nothing stopped his speech in the first place. "-wait for it to stop turning so we can jump down. Molgera is in the room under the grate."

Link was rather surprised. The Korok had just shifted to sixth gear. He was now a leader. He had improved vastly from the person he was before. Maybe this was Fado's doing. "All right! Lets check that room over there!" said Link as he pointed to the first room to his left.

"Let's go!" Makar leaped of the edge and deployed his samara. Shuffling forwards in case the fan started up again, he just made it to the ledge. The Korok held his arms out. "Come on, Link!"

Link nodded at Makar and took a running jump, deploying the Deku Leaf as he did so. He kicked his way over to his friend on the other side.

 **WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!**

The fan started up once again. Link looked down as it started whirling in circles. Already, he could feel the wind lifting his long locks.

"Oh, crud!"

 **WHOOOOOSH!**

Link shot into the air like a tent in a hurricane. "Link!" cried Makar as the boy rose higher and higher and higher until he was almost against the ceiling. The good thing was that he was now above Makar's platform so there was no chance of him falling short.

The bad thing?

 **HE WAS ABOVE MAKAR'S PLATFORM AND HE WAS TOO HIGH UP TO PUT HIS LEAF AWAY.**

Link kicked wildly as he slowly floated to the ground. Despite the Great Fairy's magic, Link was running out of magic.

"Link! Put your leaf away and then take it back out again when you are almost on the floor!" called Makar.

"What?"

"Trust me!" pleaded Makar. "For your sake!"

With mixed feelings, Link let go of one end of the leaf and plunged towards Makar.

"Open it! Open it!" chirped the Korok, sweating with fear for Link's safety. The boy did as he was told. He grabbed the other end once more and slowed to a stop in the dead grass by Makar.

"Thank you, Makar! I thought I was going to break my legs for a second!" panted Link, catching his breath.

Makar approached the door and waited for Link. "Let's try and find the monster in here! Maybe we'll get lucky!"

Link shrugged. He didn't usually solve things on the first turn, but it was worth a try.

* * *

The problem is, solving things on the first try makes the chapter WAY too short.

Instead of coming across a monster, the duo came across an empty, shrine-like room.

This room was unlike any room Link had ever seen in this dungeon before. In the other rooms, everything was covered in sand, smelled like a desert, the colour was fading off of the walls, the flora was dying and the place was devoid of any kind of life except for Link and Makar. This room, on the other hand, was filled with greener-than-green plants, beautiful ferns, murals painting the walls, a lit torch in the distance and a brick ceiling.

"Wow! It looks like Molgera hasn't touched this room yet!" trilled Makar, waving his arms up and down.

 **Crack!**

A spine-chilling crack made the two stand on end. They looked at the ceiling.

 **Sssssssssssss!**

Lines of sand were seeping through cracks in the ceiling.

 **Crick! Crack! Crummmmble!**

Larger cracks started forming in the ceiling. Fine sand began to rain down.

"It's a trap! Run!" shouted Link. He dashed over, scooped up Makar and sprinted out the way they came. The roof completely gave in. Several dozens of kilograms worth of sand came crashing into the room just as Link threw the door upwards and slid outside. As the door slammed shut, Link could hear the avalanche of sand filling the room and piling against the door.

"Ooookay, so it's definitely not that room." said Link hurriedly. He looked at Makar, who got up and shook his little body to rid it of sand.

"Oh, well. Lets try the next room down." he sighed.

* * *

Link crept ahead and looked around the corner. He hadn't seen any enemies in the temple at all and he knew that this was suspicious. The Earth Temple had monsters. Almost every island had a beast of some description on it. Even his home, Outset, wasn't safe.

 **Whoosh!**

" **Eeeeeeee!** "

Link jumped and turned behind him. Makar was gone.

"Not again! First Medli, now... MAKAR! Where did you go?"

A nasal laugh filled the air. It sounded a little modulated.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! **Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!** "

The laugh seemed to circle Link as it dragged on.

"You call yourself a hero, greenie? You can't even protect your fellow vegetables!" cackled the voice. Link turned around with his sword drawn. Who was this? Molgera?

Link blinked and when he opened his eyes again, a man in an orange cloak was standing away from him, hunched over and moving up and down with laughter.

"Ah ha ha ha! **AAAH HA HA HA HAAA!** "

Link charged at the man and aimed a kick at him, not willing to hurt a human unless absolutely necessary.

 **CRASH!**

Link landed it just fine, but the man seemed to vanish without his cloak. Link crashed to the floor, tangled in the robe.

"What's the matter? All tied up? Nyah ha ha ha ha!" blared the man's voice. Link finally ripped the cloak off of him and got up. The man stood in front of him once more with his face hidden away. He was still wearing his robe, or at least a replica of it.

With another drawn-out laugh, the man revealed his face.

Surprise, surprise, he was not a man.

He resembled a druid but his hands and feet were hidden by his robe. The top half of his face was covered by a golden helmet but Link could see that it had a similar face to that of a toucan.

"Where's the Korok?" shouted the boy as he charged at the wizard. He vanished out of sight and reappeared behind him. This time, his hand still in his cloak, he held up a wooden bird cage, containing Makar.

"Link!" he cried. "Help! I'm stuck! This is the monster! He's keeping the grate locked!"

Link charged at the wizard again. Anticipating his vanish, the boy doubled back as it did so and aimed behind him, ready to strike the magus as he returned.

…

…

…

"Where's he gone?" grumbled Link as he looked all around him to find the blighter.

"Here I am!" cackled the sorcerer. From above Link, he zapped a spell down on him with his wand. With a massive cloud of dust, Link looked at his hand to discover that it had become…

wrinkly.

All the energy had also been drained out of him.

He felt his face. It was much more soft and flabby than a few seconds ago.

The colours of his clothes were now all washed out.

"W-What have you done to me?!" shouted Link.

His voice was now very deep and gravely. He put a hand over his mouth at this realisation.

"Ha ha! I'll just leave you here, old timer! Maybe you can do with a chiropractor!" chortled the wizard as he began to leave.

'Old'?

'Chiropractor?'

"Oh, no..." moaned Link.

 **THE WIZARD HAD TURNED HIM INTO AN OLD MAN.**

"Hey! Come back here! You can't just leave me like this!" he shouted at the departing wizard. As the sorcerer spun to disappear, he quickly stopped and started thinking to himself.

"Oh! Yes! I suppose it **would** be cruel..." The wizard paused in thought for a while. "OK!" he agreed. He fired another bolt of magic at Link, who let it hit him square on without a second thought.

" _Did that seriously just work?"_ he thought as pink clouds surrounded him. The second it dispersed, Link held out his hand.

Yes! His skin was no longer covered in wrinkles, his clothes were back to being pink, his voice-

Wait, PINK?

"What the-?!" Link squawked as he looked at the rest of his clothes. His boots were magenta, his shirt and trousers were a faded pink and, worst of all, his tunic, his buckle, his hair and his hat were hot pink.

"Ha ha ha ha! Hope you enjoy your new clothes! They suit your fighting skills, boy! Here! Have some Peahats!"

With that, the wizard shot a spell into the air and vanished, taking Makar with him. Off in one of the lower rooms, Link heard the necromancer's laugh ringing in one of the lower rooms.

 **Flappaflappaflappaflappaflappa…**

The wizard's spell had summoned little flying monsters. They had hair propellers that sounded like a less sharp version of a Korok samara. The actual monsters were covered in brown hairs and they had electric blue eyes in a ring around their bodies.

That must have been really confusing for them! Seeing in four directions at the same time!

One of them chirped and began flying straight at Link, who pulled out his Sea-Breeze Boomerang to snipe it out of the air.

When Link grabbed it, he noticed that it had turned pink.

"Oh, come on!" he shouted in frustration as he chucked the boomerang. It spun through the air, leaving a pink trail as it went. It chopped through all of the Peahats propellers and sent them falling out of sight.

"All right!" laughed the pink boy as his pink boomerang flew back towards him at speed. He had thrown it with a little more force than he had intended. With a stinging slap, he caught it. Shaking his hand off, Link placed his boomerang in his… pink bag.

Suddenly, Link remembered that Makar was in jeopardy again. Which door had they gone through? Would Makar call out to him any time now?

Link thought as hard as he could and then remembered the wizard's echoing laugh from a room far down near the fan blades.

"I'm coming, Makar!" shouted the boy. He leaped off the edge and deployed his…

...pink Deku Leaf.

" _Oh, this is getting ridiculous! I need to find this nutcase right now and steal his wand so I can turn him into loo roll or something!_ "


	28. Good For Something After All

Pink Link glided through the room and onto the ledge where he had heard the wizard's laughter disappear into. He needed to get rid of him. Not only had he turned him pink but he had also snatched Makar! The fan spun again just as Link landed. Luckily, he no longer had his leaf out so he didn't shoot into the air like last time. He glared at the door ahead of him.

"Nyah ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! **HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!** " laughed the wizard from the other room. No doubt about it, he was in there. "So, tell me, lettuce leaf! Why are you here? Have you come to take over from the last sage? I cannot allow that, so you know!"

Link heard Makar gasping. "N-no! I'm not! I just-"

"Oh, you don't fool me, kid! I know everything!" said the wizard. He jarringly repeated the last sentence as his voice distorted and slowed down.

" **I know everything...** "

That was enough for Link. Makar was in trouble if he didn't burst in and help right now.

Link reeled his foot back and kicked the door, forgetting that it was a push-up door that was made of stone. He hissed and seethed as he hopped up and down, clutching his pink boot. Shaking it off, he approached the door, lifted it and dashed inside.

* * *

This room was covered in sand, just like the first one. Dunes rose into the air; sand was blowing about in the indoor wind and Makar was nowhere to be seen.

"Makar?" called Link, hoping that the Korok would call out and give away the location of his captor. The sound of chains whirring caught his attention.

" **Eeeeeeeee!** " cried Makar as the birdcage he was in lowered into view. It was attached to the ceiling by a chain link with a point on the end.

"Makar! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" sighed Link. His friend, the Sage-To-Be, Makar was not in jeopardy. Well, apart from being trapped in a cockatiel cage.

"Link! Don't worry about me! It's a trap! The Wizzrobe is going to sneak attack you! He's using me as bait! Wait, what has he done to you?" squeaked Makar.

"Wait, the what?" stuttered Link.

"The Wizzrobe! It's the wizard that trapped me here, and the one who turned you pink by the looks of it!"

Link took out his… pink bow and aimed a pink arrow at Makar's chain. "Look, I'm going to cut you loose! When I fire, I'll run and catch you!" he announced. He was about to let go of the bowstring when...

 **FOOM!**

Link's quick reactions took over. He cut himself off and dove to the right as a set of three fireballs shot towards him. They exploded on the sand, leaving black scorch marks smoking in the ground.

"Did you think I'd just leave your little Korok friend for you to grab?" chortled the Wizzrobe as he drifted into view like a ghost. "You're more gullible than you look, and you look VERY gullible!"

"You! You candy coloured piece of poultry! At least give me my colours back! This isn't a heroic look! I look like a walking lump of candy floss!" shouted Link as he drew his Master Sword and Mirror Shield. The beautiful blues of the weapons had been turned hot pink. "Seriously? These too?"

The Wizzrobe smirked and then burst out laughing.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! AAAAAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!** Oh, sorry! I just thought of something funny!"

With the reflexes of a cat, Link shot an arrow at the Wizzrobe, who vanished and appeared at Makar's cage. He pointed his wand through the bars at Makar like a knife. "Fire another arrow at me, pinky! I dare you! I double dare you!" Flames licked up his wand, almost setting the wooden cage on fire.

Link paused in thought. " _What would the wizard do if I used a different weapon?"_

"You got it! No more arrows!" answered the boy as he yanked his Deku Leaf out, lifted it over his head and swung it at Makar's cage.

 **WHOOOOOOOOSH!**

The blast threw the Wizzrobe off balance and sent Makar's cage swinging off into the distance.

"A giant leaf? What's that meant to do? Give me a nice, cool breeze?" snorted the wizard. He turned back to Makar's cage only to realise it was missing. "WHAT? Where did he go?"

Link shrugged smugly as a response. The Wizzrobe raised his wand to fire another spell but Makar's cage came swinging back down, smacking the Wizzrobe in the back of the head like a wrecking ball as the latter flew into the floor with a squawk of alarm. He spreadeagled into the sand and stood up with a growl, leaving a perfect angel shape in the ground.

"That does it! No one knocks me over with a flying cage!" snapped the sorcerer.

"Oh, I think I just did!"

"I'll teach you to mock me!"

"I think I've already learned how to do that!"

"AAARGH! Infra Rigentem!"

The Wizzrobe pointed his wand straight at Link and shot a beam of ice at him. The boy held up his shield and the mirror seemed to absorb the hit. The ice beam disappeared into the reflective surface and caused the pink edges of the mirror shield to start glowing white.

"Makar, you just keep still! I'll hold this muppet off!" said Link as the wizard teleported again.

Reappearing, the wizard was not angry. He was ENRAGED. "Right! No more games!Telum Pugna!"

Furious, the Wizzrobe's wand grew and sharpened into a blade. Even though Link was in pink, he felt a rush of bravery. The two charged at each other. With loud scraping of metal, their weapons clashed several times. Link jumped and ducked the Wizzrobe's blows and struck decisively. He was getting close to landing a good hit.

"Tonitrui!" shouted the villain as he enchanted his weapon with electricity. The next time the two clashed weapons, Link felt volt after volt travel through his sword and into his body. He winced and gasped as he fell to the floor, unable to move as his body smoked and jolted.

"Link!" cried Makar as he began trying to break out of his cage. He took a deep breath…

and began shooting seeds out of his mouth. They shot through the air like bullets and lodged into the Wizzrobe's cloak. Stopping his finisher, the wizard silently began pulling the seeds out, glaring at him in the same way you would as you remove cleavers that had nothing to do with your brother from the back of your jumper. This distraction gave Link time to come to his senses. Leaping back up, he scooped up a handful of sand and hurled it in a spray at the monster. The Wizzrobe recoiled and began rubbing his eyes.

"Aah! My eyes! I can't see!"

Link stepped back, lined up an attack and charged with his pink sword extended. The blade sank into the Wizzrobe's robe and the monster himself.

"Ow!"

The Wizzrobe vanished and reappeared a few yards away, glaring. He now had a large hole in his robe, but no more visible damage.

"Rosea Recuperandam!" he cast. Pink clouds surrounded him. "Ah, yes! I can feel all that damage you worked so hard for all going away! It feels like victory! It feels like-"

The pink clouds flew away and the Wizzrobe was…

dressed head to toe in pink. His crown, his robe, his wand, all that, all was pink. His beak was now several different shades of pink.

"-PINK? Aargh! I accidentally mixed up my spells again!" he screamed. Link couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hah! You just got your just desserts!" he taunted. The Wizzrobe started growling in fury.

"I can tell you're not tickled pink! Or are you?" laughed the boy. Even Makar was tittering.

"I'll teach you to make fun of the pink- I mean, dark arts! Take this!"

The pink Wizzrobe charged again, his pink wand blade-wand at the ready. Link ran at him to clash again.

It was the Punch-Up of the Pink Persons.

 **Clang! Clang clang clang! Clink!** **Clang! Shing!**

"Tonitrui!" cast the Wizzrobe as his blade started crackling once again.

"Not this time!" answered Link as he halted his attack to avoid connecting with the Wizzrobe's blade. For several seconds, he relied on dodging and refrained from clashing or shielding. After what felt like minutes, the spell wore off. It would need a bit of time to recharge, so Link got back on the offence again.

"Flammis!" The Wizzrobe pointed his blade-wand and fired a continuous stream of fire at Link to ward him off. The boy began cartwheeling around the fire, flipping over it and quickly dodging out of the stream. By not staying in it for too long, Link was able to avoid any burns or flames spreading to his clothes. In a few seconds, the spell ran out. The two started clashing again.

 **Clang! Clang! Shling! Clang clang!**

The Wizzrobe aimed low to try and catch the boy off guard, but Link jumped into the air and kicked the warlock in the beak.

"Ow!" he grunted, recoiling from the attack. Link looked down at his shield. It was still glowing from the ice spell the wizard had cast a while ago. He leaned down and aimed his shield at the recoiling wizard.

"Uh-oh!" he faltered as he warped a few meters away from Link. When he reappeared, Link's shield started flashing white more and more frequently until all the icy energy shot out from the mirror.

The Wizzrobe's eyes widened with terror. "Tormentus Aqua!" he screamed desperately. A jet of water shot out of the end of his blade-wand and flew towards Link's ice beam. The two collided and immediately, Link's ice froze the water all the way through until it quickly encased the Wizzrobe. Taking out his pink Skull Hammer, Link charged at the trapped Wizzrobe, leaped into the air and swung the hammer downwards as hard as he could.

 **SMAAAAAAAAASH!**

Shards of ice flew everywhere and rained down into the sand like hail. Link withdrew the Skull Hammer from the floor. The shattered, ice-encrusted blade-wand of the enemy lay in the sand under the hammer. Almost immediately, the remains of the Wizzrobe melted in the harsh temperatures until nothing remained.

Link's original colours began to return to him. Slowly, from top to bottom, the pink disappeared and was replaced by various shades of green, some pale yellow, white and brown. It was as if someone was running an invisible paintbrush over him. The boy looked at the Master Sword to see if it had returned to normal. To his relief, both that and the Mirror Shield had returned to their beautiful blue colours.

* * *

 **Chikachikachikachikachikachikachika…**

The chain holding Makar's cage got lower and lower until whatever was attached to the top came loose and followed the chain. It landed with a puff in the sand. Link picked up the item.

It was a machine consisting of a chain and a straight hook. The base was a blue, metal tube with a handle that you would fit on your arm. It was the same shade of blue as the Master Sword and the Mirror Shield.

"Link!" squealed Makar as he spat a seed out and used it to pick the lock of his cage. "You did it!"

"Makar! You're safe!" gasped Link, hugging Makar as he had done in the Forbidden Woods before putting him down, remembering what happened.

"Yes. That Wizzrobe almost set me on fire! It's a good job you're so cool in combat! You're awesome! And what's that?" squeaked the Korok, pointing his wooded arm at the contraption in Link's hands.

"I honestly have no idea. It seems that if I press… If I aim it up so I can see what I'm doing..." Link aimed the device above his head, attached it to his hand like a metal glove and squeezed the handle. "If I press this button here, then..."

Suddenly the hook shot out of the tube, taking a spool of chain with it. "Whoa! It does that!" finished Link. Suddenly, there was a loud sound of sharp metal piercing into wood. Before Link could comprehend what it was, he was lifted into the air like a bullet from a gun.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!** " he shouted as he found himself inches away from the wooden ceiling of the room. It seemed that the hook had gotten stuck in the wood and tried to retract but because it was stuck fast, it ended up pulling the handle towards it.

"I don't think that was supposed to happen!" called Makar. Link stared up at the hook, buried deep into the ceiling. With frustration, he began trying to yank the hook out of the wall.

 **Chink!**

The hook came free from the wall, sending Link plummeting to the floor with a cloud of sand.

When he opened his eyes, Makar was standing on his chest, looking down at him. "Link, do you know what this means?"

"Was that the monster keeping the fan from opening up?"

"Yes!" Makar eagerly responded, "With that horrible Wizzrobe gone, we should be able to get to Molgera!" chirped Makar.

"Yes! And we can restore all the power to the Master Sword and- I'll have to say goodbye to you. I'm sorry."

Makar's face fell. "Oh… yeah. Well… I..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dampen your spirits. Now let's go and get rid of… Molgera."

Link stood up and headed to the door. He lifted it open and waved his friend through. "After you, Sage of Wind."

After Makar made it all the way through the door, Link took a moment to examine the contraption in his hands. It was like a more technologically advanced version of the Grappling Hook that Medli gave him. The hook would be shot out of the end to latch onto things…

A hook-shot.

Maybe that was a good way to refer to it.

* * *

The two ran to the edge and peeked at the area near the fan. Sure enough, the grating had withdrawn into the side and a giant fan sat below them. It was brown and rusted but it still produced a massive blast of wind.

 **WHIRRRRRRRRRRR!**

The fan started to spin again.

"Makar, you sit up here." said Link as he scooped up Makar and placed him on his shoulder like last time. "I'm going to time a jump to get through the fan when it stops. If I time it right, we should make it easily! Just hold on!"

Makar deployed his samara, ready.

 **RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-**

The fan abruptly stopped spinning. Link leaned on the ledge and then dove.

 **WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!**

The two shot through the air as Makar began to spin his samara to try and slow Link's descent. The moment the fan stopped going, the duo zoomed through the gaps and into the pitch black below.

* * *

After falling for a while, Link deployed his Deku Leaf and Makar flew alongside him with his Samara.

"Right! That wasn't so bad, was it?" chirped Makar as he flew alongside it. The tunnel suddenly started to light up.

This room was MASSIVE. It was a large circle covered in sand. Sand was pouring from the walls, the ceiling, everywhere.

"I should have seen that coming…" moaned Makar.

"Sorry?"

"Molgera has covered the praying room in sand! Once we beat her, we'll need to move all the sand away from the altar so we can start praying." explained Makar. His eyes were widened yet narrowed at the same time as if he was scared and annoyed at the same time.

"Oh… Wait, we're floating slowly down into her room… We're easy-"

 **Rumblerumblerumblerumblerumblerumble…**

The two froze as they slowly drifted through the air.

"That's her!" whispered Makar, quivering like a hatchling.

 **RumblerumblerumbleRUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE!**

With an almighty crash, a giant pair of jaws burst out of the middle of the sand, a bottomless mouth sitting in between them. Makar screamed and spun his samara faster, rising into the air. With no way to rise into the air himself, Link simply raised his legs up as far as they would go. The pair of jaws snapped shut just below him.

 **BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

"Phew!" gasped Link as he floated to the far corner of the sandy room. Suddenly, the worst possible thing happened at the worst possible time.

 **HIS MAGIC RAN OUT.**

The Deku Leaf reduced to a useless skeleton and Link tumbled to the floor.

" **Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrggggghhhh!"**

Link landed in the sand and rapidly started getting drawn towards the middle. The sand was all being drawn into the centre of the room where Molgera was.

With a shower of sand, a giant, sandy snake monster shot from the ground like a desert predator. her long body resembled a snake, but her head looked like that of a manta ray. Her mouth opened horizontally and had an eye on each end.

Yeah, best not to picture that if you're eating.

It was the other Protector of the Seal.

 **MOLGERA.**

* * *

Molgera flew around the room like a party streamer, making a noise that could only be described as a cross between a donkey braying loudly and an agonised scream.

" **EYOWR! EYOWR! EYOWR! EYOWR! EYOWR! EYOWR!** "

With an ear-piercing scream, Molgera dove back into the middle of the room.

"Makar! Makar! Are you OK?" called Link as he stood up and began walking backwards to compensate for all the moving sand. "Makar? Where are you?"

Link listened for the sound of Makar's samara. All of a sudden, he heard that familiar rattle and jingling of bells.

"I'm up here!" screamed the Korok, trying to be heard over the din of the moving sand.

With another screech, Molgera partially emerged from the sand. She opened her jaws and began waiting for her pray to come sliding in from the steep incline. Her long, purple tongue extended into the air like a tape measure or a charmed snake.

Link eyed the Hookshot. Its hook looked sharp enough to pull Molgera's tongue towards it. That looked like a weakness!

" _This isn't going to be pretty,"_ thought Link as he aimed the metal glove at the monster's tongue, _"but I need to do it!"_

Link closed his eyes and fired the Hookshot. With a sickening slashing noise, it stabbed into Molgera's tongue. The monster screamed as it was somehow pulled out of the sand a little and lay on its side, its tongue hanging limply in the sand. Link winced even more, took out his sword and shield and began slashing up and down as if he were in a psychological horror film. The monster's screams rung out across the room, even throwing Makar off balance. By the time the creature had gotten herself together and withdrew her tongue, Link was covered in purple blood. He could feel the pain on his own tongue just from thinking of what he did.

Molgera spat a massive, green globule into the air and onto the floor just in front of Link. When it evaporated, larval monsters, each about the length of anacondas, wriggled about in the sand like licks of paint in water.

"Link! Watch out! Those things have sharp teeth!" warned Makar as he swooped down to help. He took a big breath and started spitting seeds at the larvae like bullets.

The seeds rained down onto the larvae and dug into their skin, but it didn't even do anything to them. Link pointed his sword at the beasts to warn them off, but he couldn't keep them away forever. Several of them pounced in the air and pinned him to the floor. Their fangs bared, they bit him several times over. It was like a Game Over sequence in a zombie survival video game when you fail a quick-time event.

"Link! Hold on! I'm coming!" squeaked Makar as he flew over for assistance. By the time he had gotten over there, Link had shaken all the Larvae off and finished them with a spinning attack, chopping them into headless pieces.

 **Rumblerumblerumblerumble…**

The sand started depressing in a circle around Link. He was in too much pain to move. He was covered in his own blood, plus Molgera's. He was just dizzily staggering around as sand started getting drawn into his area.

"Link! Come on! Run! Let's go!" squealed Makar as he grabbed Link by the hand with his stubby arms and started spinning his samara furiously. Unfortunately, since Link was much heavier than him, he wasn't going anyway.

Another ear-splitting shriek shook the room and a pair of massive, floppy jaws rose around the two. Link looked blearily at the two fleshy walls.

"Oh, snap!" he mumbled as he began to run. He tried to take Makar with him but as he ran, he felt his little arms peeling from his own.

 **SNAP!**

Molgera snapped her jaws shut and vanished back into the sand, just missing Link. He dashed all the way to the other side of the room, sand sticking to all the blood on his face and filling his boots.

"Phew!" he gasped as the rumbling temporarily subsided. "Thank you for snapping me out of that, Makar, I was almost that thing's-" The boy looked down at his side for Makar. He wasn't there. "Lunch?"

Molgera burst into the air once again, her jaws flapping like a pair of limp hands trying to clap. The boy looked at the flying monster. No… It couldn't have happened again.

"Makar? Are you up there? Are you flying? Are you OK?" called Link in desperation. All the noise made Molgera notice him and dive, mouth open.

Instinctively, Link equipped his Hookshot and fired. The chain zipped through the air and vanished into Molgera's throat. Suddenly, the hook lodged into her tongue once more. She shrieked again and abruptly came crashing to the floor, her mouth hanging open in a dead faint.

" _Just how strong is this thing?"_ thought Link before sprinting over and calling into the snake's gob, just as Kalle Demos had tricked him into doing.

"Makar? Makar! Are you in there? Are you OK?"

…

…

…

This time, Link got a response, a troubling one, but still a response.

"Link! Help! It's poisonous in here! I can't breathe!" coughed Makar from inside the monster.

Link thought for a little bit. _"This was my fault! I have to go in and help!"_

Taking a big gulp of air to avoid poisoning himself, Link dashed inside the monster and started to run as far as he could. With a slam, the monster shut her mouth behind him.

There was no turning back now.

* * *

The boy squelched along Molgera's innards, plugging his nose firmly to prevent poisonous air entering through there. He needed some way to communicate with Makar so he could find out where he was. With the way back now shut, Link felt Molgera launch back to the air. The sudden jolt made him stumble as if he was getting on a bus and the driver floored it before he could sit down.

He beat his chest with his free hand to avoid having to speak. This made a very noticeable sound.

"Link? Is that you? Where- (Cough!) (HACK!) Where are you?"

"I'm here! Don't worry! Move around a bit so I can see you!" said Link, trying to breathe as little as possible. On the wall, he could see Makar wriggling around a little. He seemed to be trapped by a webby substance.

"I can see you! Just bear with me! I'll get us out!"

Link grabbed his friend and yanked him out of the web, now choking on the horrible air around him. "Let's finish this snake off!" he panted as he opened his bag. He poured several bombs out of his bag and onto the floor, activating them to go off after ten seconds.

"Now... RUN FOR IT!" shouted Makar as Link took off running back towards where he had come from. He was wobbling madly from all the exterior movement and the uneven ground. The light at the end appeared and disappeared as the two got closer and closer to the entrance where they had got in. Molgera was now flying through the air while flapping her jaws just like she did when Link first landed in her sand.

Finally, the two reached Molgera's mouth. They paused for a while as they waited for Molgera to open her mouth again before finally…

" **EYOWR-** "

"Now's our chance!" cried Link, leaping out of the monster's mouth. He held onto Makar as the latter began spinning his samara to try and slow them down. No use. They were still falling to the floor at an alarming pace, and Link had no magic to use the Deku Leaf. Out of options, Link held Makar against his chest and flipped over, back side down.

 **PAF!**

The last think Link saw before blacking out was Molgera spiralling towards him with her mouth open. The last thing he heard was all the bombs going off.

 **BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOO-**

…

…

…

* * *

Link's eyes flew open. Ah. Everything hurt. His back was aching, his face felt like a chew toy, he felt sick from charging into Molgera and…

Makar was standing in front of him, waving his arms wildly. "Link!" he cried. "You're awake!" The Korok toddled over and gave Link the best hug he could manage. With a great big smile on his face, Link returned it, almost choking the Korok. "Look! Around us!"

Link looked through the room. Molgera's defeat had drained all the sand from the room, not to mention the temple. It was exactly how it was meant to be. Beautiful flora flourished on the walls and green grass was glistening in the room.

"The temple is all back to normal! Look! There's the Triforce mark!" The Korok looked at the glowing emblem on the floor, waiting to be used. "We know what that means!" trilled Makar. He materialised his two instruments. He seemed very relieved that he hadn't accidentally brought them out during all the carnage.

"I know what to do. Just hang on a minute." replied Link. He stepped over to the Triforce emblem and placed the Master Sword inside of the little slit in the middle.

He returned to his friend and slid out the Wind Waker. They both nodded before Link began conducted.

 **Dee, dee diddly dee, dee diddly…**

A short way into the song, Fado appeared with Makar and started playing along with him.

Something seemed very different about him this time. He seemed… alive. He looked… in the flesh, yet he was still a ghost.

Link watched him as he and Makar restored the full power to the Master Sword with a jolly aria. As the cheery tune reached the forte, the very wind sang along with them. Fado got a bit more animated as he played at this point. Finally, Makar opened his eyes and nearly messed up a note upon seeing his ancestor standing with him. The song calmed down and stopped with a flourish.

Makar's black eyes were shining like jewels from tears as he looked in disbelief at his ancestor. As the former sage's body began to fade like paper in the rain, he bent down and stroked the top of the Korok's head. A gentle smile crossed his face, telling Makar something without a word.

Most likely that he was very proud of him.

Makar didn't dare blink in case when he opened his eyes Fado would be gone altogether. The ghost was becoming fainter and fainter now. Makar stopped holding his shaking breath and bowed to Fado. The last thing he could make out was the faintest outline of the ghost's smile. Then he was gone.

The boy approached the Master Sword and plucked it out of the little slit, quickly stepping out of the Triforce in case its portal activated before he could say goodbye. "Thank you so much, Makar. You have done so much for me and everyone, you know that? Are you going to be all right?

Makar held back his tears and nodded assertively. "Yes. I'll be fine! I just need to… get used to it! That's all!"

Link bent down to his friend's level and rested a hand on his head. "Now that Molgera's gone, I'm sure this place will become much better! Cleaner air, stuff like that!" assured the boy. He reached into his personal bag for something to give Makar. His hands settled on a giant leaf with a small caterpillar bite nibbled into it, which he had kept since he was seven.

"Here! Something to remember me by!" With that, he turned and looked at the Triforce emblem. It was emitting the same light as the one from the Earth Temple. The portal had been activated.

"I'm going to miss you, Link!" Makar squeaked, tears spilling once again.

"I'll… miss you too. Don't worry. If I can destroy Ganondorf, I'll see if I can get you free, all right?"

Link stepped into the portal and saluted Makar. He began to rise into the air.

"Oh, Link!" chirped Makar, his voice breaking a little. "Tell the Great Deku Tree that I have found a place where I can play and play and play for as long as possible!"

"Will do!" replied Link. In a flash of gold light, he vanished.

Makar looked at the rising blue light and shrugged. "Huh. I guess I was good for something after all."

He closed his eyes and continued playing.


	29. A Mother And Child

After Link reappeared back in the cave at the start, he began to head for the exit.

"Li-..."

The boy heard a female voice in his head. He stopped dead. This was no simple imagining of things. Was it Aryll's voice calling out to him? He had been longing to see her again and she may have already arrived home by now... Maybe Medli had telepathically contacted him so she had someone to talk with, since she never struck Link as the lone wolf type.

"Link."

Link jumped upon hearing his name being spoken. He knew he was tired, but he could hear this voice clear as day as if the speaker was right in front of him.

"I have watched your journey ever since you drew the Master Sword… Your courage… Your power… Your wisdom..." continued the voice, "…It really speaks the promise of a true hero."

After a little bit of wonder, Link tried to communicate back using his own mind.

" _Thank you… missus!"_

The voice laughed in a high pitch. "Don't worry about it! In fact, I could do with a visit from you!"

" _Oh? What for? Where can I find you?"_

"Just come to my fairy garden at the Mother and Child Isles. The garden is surrounded by a giant wall, so you need to go for a spin to get in!"

" _A spin? Um… Oh. A spin._ _Not that song again! I nearly hurled last_ time!" grumbled Link's brain at the thought of spinning through the air at several hundred RPM once again.

"Don't worry! You'll be fine! I'm sure you can stomach it!"

The voice faded away in a laugh until nothing remained. Link had to conduct the Ballad of Gales again and he hated that.

* * *

"Sire," yawned Link as he advanced into the night towards his boat. Instead of the King's warm and princely voice, he heard a voice with a cracking Welsh accent that sounded like it was about to start herding sheep all on its own.

"Yes, I saw it! Like a snake that casts off its dead skin! The Forsaken Fortress is empty!"

Link looked at what the King was talking too. It turned right towards him, revealing himself to be fish with an old man's face. He held a paintbrush in his mouth, so it clicked against his teeth like a newton cradle as he spoke.

"Ah! Is this the one?" he asked to the King.

"Yes… That's the lad."

The fish cleared his throat and began speaking to Link.

"Hoy, small fry! I am a messenger of the seas! I am a Fishman!"

He extended a small fin for Link to shake, which he did rather gently, know how delicate side fins were. "I do believe I haven't made your acquaintance yet." said the boy uncertainly.

"I often came around to this boat when you were away! I gave him information! It seems you've seen me now, though." The Fishman turned back to the King. "Hey, what's with the long face, Kingy? The monsters are gone from the region! We have nothing else to worry about! No monsters to fight save for a few stragglers!"

"Yes… I see." replied the King, grumbling a little as the Fishman disappeared back into the water. "Link, did you power up the Master Sword?" asked the boat, turning his head to Link.

Wait, the Master Sword! Link had not checked the Master Sword since he had left Makar in the Wind Temple. He drew his weapon to inspect it. The Master Sword's blade was now shining like it was slathered in bioluminescent algae and the jewel on the hilt was glowing golden like a nugget freshly panned from a river.

"Woooow..." muttered Link. He swung the sword through the air. It left a magnificent trail of light and made a satisfying **VOOM** noise.

"That's good!" stated the King, though he sounded like he was trying to move onto more grave matters. "Moving on, we have… a bit of concerning news."

Link's heart sank. What had happened? Had Ganondorf laid siege to the Earth Temple while he was in the Wind Temple? Had he attacked Outset? Had he already attacked the Wind Temple? Whatever it was, he hoped no one was dead. Especially if they were close friends or family.

"What is it?" asked Link, raising an eyebrow.

"Ganondorf has not been seen since Valoo unleashed his fiery wrath upon him." started the King, "Furthermore, the Forsaken Fortress is completely empty of any life whatsoever. As I told you before we tackled the Earth and Wind temples, Ganondorf cannot be fell with anything other than the Master Sword. He is very much alive."

"Where could he have gone?" breathed Link. He was very nervous about where this was going. He felt his heart sinking as it pulsed faster and faster.

"That's my concern. I fear that he has found Hyrule and is currently after the Princess-"

" **WHAT?** " shouted Link. "We need to go to Hyrule immediately!"

"Remember what I said, my boy." said the King. He kept his calm. This soothed Link a little. " **I, myself,** can no longer open the portal to Hyrule. You must take over."

"Please tell me! How do I do it?" begged the boy. He sloshed into the water and clambered aboard.

"Do you remember the goddess, Farore?" asked the King.

"Yes. Is she the green one?"

"Exactly. Her part of the Triforce was coined the Triforce of Courage. The Triforce of Courage was apparently stored in a royal place for guarding and it now waits to be reclaimed. One who possesses a part of the Triforce can open the portal."

"I'VE GOT IT!" shouted Link, leaping into the air. "Granny has legends of the Triforce! If we can cure her, maybe I can ask her about the Triforce of Courage and see if she has any about that!"

Link studied the boat's face to see if he thought that was a good idea, but all he saw was… concern.

"Link, isn't your grandmother... a bit short of memory?"

The boy's face fell as quickly as it rose. He would be surprised if the lady remembered that he was out on a quest. He wondered if she thought he was still home with Aryll. If she had started to awaken right now, she would probably be blessing her children with a good night's sleep. On the other hand, however...

Link raised his head to correct the King. "Maybe, but she only has a hard time remembering recent stuff." he said, "She remembers her old dog, Tarka, from when she was a teenager. In fact, she thinks she's still alive and she pours food for her every day. I have to empty it back into the bag or... it piles up."

"..."

...

There was silence for a moment, only broken by waves splashing over the shore.

"...I am sorry to hear that." the King finally managed to say.

"She also remembers the school she used to go to. She even talks about when she has to go back because her class will be wondering where she is. The past's no problem for her memory. The only questions are whether the Triforce is too recent of a memory and how we can make her feel better..."

The King turned his figurehead once more, creaking it to face Link. "When we last docked at Outset... did anyone tell you about how to cure that illness?"

"Now that you mention it..." Link stopped and gave that question as much thought as he could. He remembered telling Orca about it, who then directed him to Professor Sturgeon... then...

"I've got it! We need to find a fairy. They can cure anything." Link suddenly said. The King's head leaned back in surprise.

"You are coming up with ideas left and right, my boy! The only thing is, where can we find a fairy? Most people go through entire lifetimes and not see one trace of a fairy."

The boy remembered his earlier mind conversation he had earlier, but he didn't want to tell the King that he had to send them into a dizzying spin again. Then again, it was either that or sail the seas in search of the place and then scale a mountain he didn't know the height of. It could have been twice the size of Everest for all he knew.

"Um… Sire? We're in luck… Someone called me with their mind and told me to come to their… 'fairy garden' over at the Mother and Child Isles. Apparently, I have to 'go for a spin' to get there."

The King widened his eyes, the wood of his face creaking as he did so. "That must have been the Queen of Fairies! It is a real honour to even have her acknowledge an individual. She must have seen your strength!" he said, high pitched in pride.

"But… to get there, I must have to conduct the Ballad of Gales. She said that her garden is surrounded by a giant wall."

The King frowned as if he saw it coming before he immediately raised his cannon from the deck. "I have a plan. You conduct the Ballad of Gales and then announce 'Mother and Child Isles' as clearly as you can," he instructed, "When you've done that, hold onto the cannon as tightly as you can. If you do that, you should be just fine."

With a nervous swallow, Link pulled out the Wind Waker and moved his free arm to change the time signature.

 **Down, right, left, up!**

The wind pressure increased a little. The song had clearly worked. Now for Phase 2.

"Mother and Child Isles!" announced Link. He hurriedly put the Wind Waker away so he would't lost it and hugged the cannon in front of him. The water started to swirl under the boat.

"Here we go!" shouted the King of Red Lions as he started to spin. Link kept his eyes firmly shut as the boat whirled around faster and faster and faster until wind surrounded them and they rose into the air once more, dragging saltwater and seaweed with them as they went.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

* * *

After an agonising wait, Link felt the boat beginning to descend. Still, he did not dare to open his eyes until he heard the plop of the King landing in the water.

In a daze, Link opened up his eyes. All he saw was swirling colours. It was like standing in the centre platform of the rotor ride at the amusement park in the dark with all the riders holding glow-sticks.

With a yelp of alarm, Link tripped on the gunwale of the boat and splashed into a body of water, the cold shock stopping his dizziness. This water was not salty, it was actually fresh. It was also very shallow. He was sitting in a green pond surrounded by an English-looking garden. Plants of various colours circled the giant, circular rock wall that surrounded them. A bench made of white, metal pipes sat in the far corner. The pond was circular and had a little fountain in the middle.

Link stood up and climbed back into his boat. "Miss? Where are you?" Are you in here?" he called.

…

…

…

 **FOOM!**

With an explosion of sparkling water, someone came splashing out from the fountain. Before Link's eyes was a floating chrome girl, holding a little doll that resembling the two Great Fairies that Link had freed from the two monsters. She looked down at him and giggled a little.

"Greetings, child," she droned monotonously. Her voice sounded like it was generated using a machine instead of being organic. She robotically raised her arm. "Welcome to my humble abode."

"Were you the one who was talking to me back at Gale Isle?" asked Link, getting straight to the point. He shook his soaked hair from his face.

"That's me. I am the Queen of Fairies." replied the girl. She did a little whistle. As if responding, several specks of light with wings came floating out of the trees at the side.

" _Fairies."_ thought Link as a few strayed near him before darting away.

"These are my children. They are just regular fairies. Few humans have ever seen them." hummed the Queen. "They can cure any illness, no matter how severe. I think that you could use one right about now."

"How did you know about Granny?" Link said, backing up a little.

"I know lots of things. I know your objective, I know your struggles, that's why I am lending you a fairy. Please take out one of your empty bottles and hold it aloft."

The boy did as he was told. Slowly, one of the fairies flew towards him and landed on the lip of his bottle.

"No… It's seriously not going to fly in, is it?" whispered Link. The ball of light dropped inside the bottle and came to rest on the floor of it.

"It seems it did." tittered the fairy. "Now then, I have a second blessing for you... The final stretch of a journey starts with a single step."

The fairy held her doll aloft and it vanished into particles of light. The particles spun around for a bit before forming a spinning pair of arrows. One of them had a fiery red crystal arrowhead and the other was an icy blue diamond.

"These arrows are of fire and ice. To utilise the Fire Arrow, recite the Hylian word, 'Ignis'. To utilise the Ice Arrow, recite the Hylian word, 'Glacies'. It seems that you are out of magic, so I'll refill it for you on top of all that."

The arrows floated towards Link before they vapourised into energy and disappeared into him as if he was a ghost. Despite the two elements finding home inside his soul, he did not feel any pain. No heat, no chills, nothing.

"Thank you, your Majesty." said Link as he bowed to the fairy.

"Now, it is time for you to cure your grandmother with that fairy and save both of your worlds with her help!" whispered the Queen Fairy.

Oh no.

" _Please, don't tell me I have to conduct that sickening song again!"_ thought Link, sweat already beading on his forehead.

"Oh, don't worry about that song. I can transport you out of here!" giggled the Queen. Suddenly, the garden began to fade out, being gradually replaced by the night sky and the dark blue ocean. When the garden had completely disappeared, Link found himself blearily sitting in his boat.

The boy peered behind himself to look at where he had come from and immediately found out why the place was called the Mother and Child isles.

The Mother island was the hollow mountain that housed the Queen Fairy. It was a round, hollow wall that stretched up to about the size of a building. The Child island was a tiny little island next to it, housing only a palm tree and a beach. The two were like a mother and child.

"Link, we have the fairy. Now we just need to- are you OK?" asked the King, concerned about Link. He was just sitting with his head down, propping it up with his fist as if he were thinking.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just… wanted to apologise." replied Link, not looking up.

The King was both surprised and confused. "Really? For what?"

"My difficulty. Before we went to find the new sages… I just couldn't behave myself. I really didn't want to be difficult and I wasn't trying to."

"What? Now, look, my boy. I understand why you felt that way. I just… dropped it out of nowhere, so it must have been a real shock. We must forget about that now. We must focus on getting to Outset."

Link stood up, nodded and stomped on the sail button. The boat lurched off into the distance.

"Sire?" yawned Link as the boat splashed through waves. Even these weren't waking him up enough to fully concentrate.

"Yes?"

"I've just noticed: Medli is a Rito who flies on the wind, yet she is the sage of the Earth Temple. Makar is like… a sentient root of a tree, which goes into the earth, yet he is the sage of the Wind Temple. Why is this?"

"Well, that is an interesting question." commented the King. "The reason for this is that the sages were having… an exchange, if that makes sense. Medli, child of the sky, goes to the Earth Temple. Makar, child of the earth, goes to the Wind Temple."

"Inter- Interesting..." Yawned Link as he began to veer the boat off course.

"Link, you look exhausted!" observed the King. "Why don't you have a nap? I'll keep us on course and I'll wake you come-"

 **THUMP.**

Before the King had finished talking, Link had obliged and crashed on the deck. In a second, he was fast asleep.

The King looked on with surprise before he, once again, began steering the tiller himself.

"Good night, hero." he whispered.

* * *

"Link, we are now at your home village, Outset Island."

The boy creaked his eyes open. He was propped up against the gunwale of the boat so as soon as he could see, he sighted Outset on the dark horizon. It had started raining as well. As the boy and his boat got closer and closer, Link noticed something that was different about Granny's house. Last time he came in, the lights were all off and parts of the outside was burned up from the candle incident. Now, all the old wood had been stripped off and replaced by new logs. The cottage looked good as new, as if it had just been built.

"Now, please keep perfectly still." Link kept his voice down in case anyone heard him and wondered why he was talking to a boat. "I don't want to have to explain a talking boat to everyone."

"As you wish, my boy." replied the King. He turned his head forward and the pupils in his eyes disappeared, leaving the empty, glass eyeballs vacant. He looked just like a regular, everyday boat that someone on the Great Sea could use plausibly.

The boy stopped at the jetty and disembarked. He sprinted up the beach and the grass before arriving at his cottage, his boots caked in sand and grass. Immediately, he could smell fresh planks of wood.

Whoever had rebuilt the burned parts of the house had obviously done it pretty recently. The new planks were much brighter in colour, giving the house a more modern look.

 **Crash!**

"Mind the ladder, you'll break it!"

"I apologise, brother."

The voices inside may have been slightly muffled but one sounded old and cranky. The other was old and wise.

 **SNORT!**

But what villager had a voice like that?

"Kevin! Watch where you're going! No, that's not food! Those are wood chippings!"

'Kevin'?

Link turned the door handle and walked into the house. Inside was Sturgeon and his brother, Orca. Surprisingly, they were talking to each other calmly and civilly, nodding in agreement when one brother came up with a good idea. Usually, they would start talking nicely to each other but that would swiftly escalate into blustering roaring as if they had a whole mountain range between each other. Link shyly cleared his throat, feeling small now he was back in the presence of his old training master. All of a sudden, the two heard him, stopped talking and turned their heads to him.

"Link?" uttered the brothers.

The boy looked around his house, slightly coughing from the pungent paint fumes. "What's happened while I was away? This whole house looks so much better than it's ever been!

Orca showed off a bucket of brown paint, making Link choke on the fumes once more. "Your granny was awake a few days ago," he said, "she gave us permission to repair her house after the fire."

"Thank you... How is she doing?"

Sturgeon stepped forward. "She is just a little better. She wakes up now and again, but that's about it. We've had to feed her and provide her with water every time she awakens. As I said, a guaranteed cure is a fairy but a lot of people go their entire lives without seeing one. I'm afraid that we're going to have to just hope for the-"

Link reached into his pouch and, trying not to get himself cut on Trusty Rusty, pulled out one of the two bottles he had. He held it up to show off the little light floating about inside.

" **FAIRY?"** screeched Sturgeon, recoiling in surprise. Link began to walk around the corner. "Where on earth did you get that?"

"Now, the Fairy Queen said to cure Granny with this fairy, so I'm just going to say- **OH, MY GOODNESS!** "

Link had walked around the corner and almost smack into a large, black pig that was eating charred wood chippings out of a bucket. "Who's... this guy?" asked Link, struggling for words.

"That's Rose's pet pig, Kevin." replied Orca, walking around the corner. "He escaped from his pen today and came scratching at the door. He was getting all wet, so we decided to let him in. What harm could he possibly do, after all?"

Link felt the pig's hairy back. It felt… strangely familiar.

" _Wait, is this… that pig from the forest?"_ he thought. The animal felt almost alike to the little pig he found in the Forest of Fairies, yet much bigger.

Kevin turned his head and sniffed his clothes.

"Didn't think I'd see you for a while, let alone all grown up!" Link said softly to the pig. "I'm just going to help Granny now, OK?, I'll come see you in a moment."

He stepped forward to his sleeping grandmother, who was mostly covered by a hairy blanket. "Okay… now for the moment of truth… Work your magic, fairy!"

As Orca and Sturgeon watched in awe, Link undid the cork from his bottle. The Fairy fluttered out and started spinning around Grandma in the pattern of a spring. Magic sparks fluttered down like confetti. When the fairy had finished its work, it flew out of the open window, lighting up the night sky until it faded over the horizon.

Granny's breathing got a little steadier.

"Granny?"

She slowly shuffled around.

"Are you all right?"

With no warning, she sat up, beamed and pulled her grandson into a giant hug, something she didn't do all that often. "Link... my son!" she said proudly as she sprang up. Sturgeon was still agape with shock, wondering how he had got the fairy. Orca's face was a picture of pride and relief.

"Sit down, Granny! I have something to tell you, and it's good this time. I promise." said Link as he sat his grandmother back onto her chair. He squeezed her hand tight as happy tears slid down his face. "Aryll is safe! She's with a group of nice pirates at the moment and she'll be back soon."

"Oh, thank goodness! My granddaughter is safe too! Are they the same pirates you left with?" asked Granny with a smile.

"You remembered?" gasped Link, almost double-taking. Granny had gone from forgetting to drink her tea and leaving twelve cups of cold tea on the table to remembering that Link had set off with pirates. To be fair, your grandson leaving on a giant boat with a group of sea bandits was something no one could possibly forget any time soon.

"Yes, I remembered. I don't know how or when it happened, but I can remember a lot more than I used to." chuckled Granny. "I wonder how Aryll's enjoying the pirate ship..."

" **AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!** " shouted a voice from outside. Link quickly jumped into action, yanked out the glowing Master Sword as it made another loud **VOOM** sound. Making sure the window was open first, he jumped through it and into the night.

"Junior? Where are you going? Asked Granny, confused. Link quickly jumped and pulled himself back to her level.

"I'm just going to help that guy out there! He's in trouble!" replied Link. He dropped down from the window as Orca grabbed his spear and ran out the door into the rain.

"¡Atrás, monstruo!" shouted the silhouetted as he was cornered by a ragged, porcine creature with a club. "¡Vete! ¡Déjame solo!"

"Hey! Leave him alone!" bellowed Orca as he ran with his spear outstretched. With a swift hit, the monster turned and threw Orca off balance with a deceptively powerful strike. Like a little green ninja, Link sprinted after it and slashed at it with the fully powered Master Sword.

 **VUM!**

 **SLAAAASH!**

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!** "

With a trail following the swing, Link hit the monster perfectly. It went shooting through the air and into the ocean, where he witnessed it perish in a massive spurt of water. It was so big that it looked like a Blue Whale had breached and spurted a geyser into the air from its blowhole.

"Are you all right, sir?" said Link seriously as he and Orca went to check on the man. To their surprise, he pulled himself up and uncurled a pair of wings from his sleeves.

"Link, it's you!" cheered the man as he straightened and calmed himself.

"Quill?"

"Yes, it's me! Back where we met for the first time!" said Quill. He reached into his bag.

Orca fiddled for his lantern, striking a match against it to get a look at the postman. "Link... Who is this? How does he know you?"

"The name is Quill, Mr. Warrior! I came to find Link, for he has two letters!" announced Quill. He took two letters out of his bag and shielding it from the wind and rain with his hand. "Your sister must be safe with those piratas, because one of them is from her! This other one is from… Goodness, what is this handwriting? It's from… Tinkle?"

Link tried reading it himself. He backed towards Orca's lantern and read the curly, almost tangled writing. "'To… Fairy Boy with green clothes and blonde hair… from… Tingle?!"

Tingle was the strange man that Link had freed from the Windfall Island Prison. He had invited Link to visit his island but the boy hadn't quite got around to doing it. Maybe it wasn't very high on the things he needed to do.

"Thank you, Quill!" called Link as the postman began to take off. Link directed the wind in the direction of Dragon Roost to give him a tailwind. With a big flap of his wings, Quill flew into the air and shot off back to Dragon Roost.

" _He really is an unstoppable postman."_ thought Link as he turned and headed back into the house. _"Anyone else would just take the night off in this weather."_

* * *

"Granny." said Link, re-entering his house and locating his grandmother at the dinner table. He sat down opposite her.

"Oh! Yes, Junior?" answered his grandmother.

"Do you have any stories about… the Triforce of Courage?"


	30. A Scarecrow In A Wind Tunnel

"The Triforce of Courage?" yelped Granny as Link took off his sword and shield and lay them down at the wall.

"Yes, the golden relic of… Farore. Do you have any… legends of it?" asked Link, sitting down. Orca placed a cup of tea at his end.

"Why, yes I do. Why do you need to know about that?"

Link paused uncomfortably. Granny did **NOT** want to know that he had to leave her for another dangerous mission. "I'm… just interested, that's all. What is the story?"

Granny stood up and waddled over to her bookshelf. "Link, my boy, have you ever heard of the shell of a ship?"

"The shell of a ship?" echoed Link. Was she talking about a giant seashell that could be used as a boat or something?

"She's talking about the Ghost Ship." said Orca as he walked forwards, brushing past Kevin as he did so. "Seven years ago, there was a ship that housed the whole Triforce of Courage."

Granny pulled a thick book out of the bookshelf and slammed it down on the table. "Here we are!" she trilled with a flourish. Link opened the book up. "Page 126, Junior." instructed Granny.

Making some noises of thinking, Link flicked the pages down until he came across the correct set of pages. Smack in the middle of the book was a well-drawn picture of… a ship.

It was done with rough but accurate painting techniques. The ship was rather minimalistic. It had a simple, black hull and several tall, white sails. A red flag hung from the back of the ship. The surrounding area seemed very simple as well. The sea was calm and blue and the sky was white with dashes of blue. The top of the page was titled " **MARY HEMEL** ". That must have been the name of the ship.

Granny stepped to the book and read one of the passages. "This boat was used for cruising getaways," she said, "Unfortunately, one night it mysteriously disappeared after a massive storm. No trace of it ever turned up."

Sturgeon struck his cane against the floor. "That ship was rumoured to contain the Triforce of Courage. When it disappeared, the Triforce caused it to sail once again as a ghost ship, but doing this caused it to break into shards. Only someone with a specific chart is able to see the Ghost Ship."

" _Gone without a trace? Cruising getaways?"_ though Link as he stared at the illustration of the boat. This all seemed very familiar. "Do you know what became of this chart? Is it still around?"

Granny popped a Murray Mint into her mouth. "Well, the man who made the chart did so by travelling to islands across the Great Sea at night. He would eventually come across an island with strange traits. Examples were things like… the sky clouding over."

"Would it rain?" asked Link, leaning forward in interest.

"No rain," continued Granny, sucking on her mint, "but the surrounding area would get much cooler. He reported hearing groaning chants nearby, lightning going off and, most confusingly, a path of water was spreading in a certain pattern in the surrounding part of the ocean. It was like there was an invisible ship sailing around the ocean."

"No way!" raved Link as he leaned forward even further.

"Yes, I can assure you! It happened!" said Granny, getting as excited as her grandson. "Anyway, after weeks of doing this, he noticed that the ship appeared at islands in a pattern. To keep track of this pattern, he would find the ship, look up at the moon and make a note of its pattern. When he made the chart of the Ghost Ship, he paired each island that the vessel appeared at with a phase of the moon. When he finished the chart, he used it to find the Ghost Ship once more to see if it worked and, to his surprise, he saw it! The whole ship!"

"What did it look like? What did it look like?" panted Link, almost knocking his cup of herbal tea over. He had forgotten that it was there.

"It allegedly looked pretty much the same as it did before it vanished, but the sails were torn and the wood was rotten. The whole vessel was transparent and surrounded by little, ghostly lights. Will-O-The-Wisps."

"Will-O-The-What?" Link leaned back, confused.

"Little flames that seemed to just… float up from nowhere. They were what caught the man's eye first." explained Granny, shutting the book. "He told everyone about what he saw and even lead them to one of the islands to see it. Only the man that held the map could see it."

"Did he ever pass the map around to other people?"

Granny nodded her head. "Oh, yes! He did! When the map left his person, the ship apparently just… faded away. The person he gave the map to started screaming that he could see it."

"So, what became of this map?"

Granny looked out of the open window. Kevin looked up from the wood chipping bucket and followed her gaze, squinting in confusion. "The man started hearing voices in his head, saying that the map will bring bad fortune should he keep it for another hour. He heeded their words and looked for somewhere to hide his map, rather than destroying it. He settled for a place named Diamond Steppe Island, knowing that it was hard to enter, he dug his way into a giant cavern underground that was filled with wrecked ships. He hid the map there. That night, people reported seeing a lightning strike in the direction of Diamond Steppe and the man never returned after that night."

Link cringed a little. If he was unsure about whether to tell Granny that he was after the Triforce of Courage, he was DEFINITELY not going to now that he had heard about how dangerous the task will be. "Thank you, Granny! The Koroks will love hearing about this!"

"The Koroks?" murmured Granny.

"Oh, they're… the people that live in Forest Haven. I've been to lots of places in the Great Sea in the last few days. You wouldn't really know." said Link, quickly. He was hoping that they would move onto something else.

* * *

"Changing the subject, dear," started Granny. Link felt a flush of relief going off inside of him. Granny wasn't pursuing this topic any further, "what are in those letters you got?"

Link looked under his hand. He had completely forgotten about the letters. First off, he moved Aryll's to the top of the two and slid it open. The boy took a swig of herbal tea to clear his throat. "Right!" he said confidently as he unfolded Aryll's letter and looked at the writing. It was clearly not handwritten, instead it was done with stamps that had been soaked in ink, most likely from a typewriter.

" _ **Hey, big brother! How are you doing?**_ " read Link. Granny leaned in closer. Orca began to read the letter quickly, mumbling the words under his breath. " _ **I'm travelling with a group of pirates right now! How cool is that?! At first, I was kind of scared. I thought that they would attack a village or something, but they are really nice people!**_ "

The second part of the letter described all of the pirates and her relationships with them.

" _ **Mister Gonzo is a really big man,** **but he's a big softy deep down. He hasn't stopped wondering whether Miss Tetra is OK. It's kind of funny, but kind of sad at the same time.**_ "

"Well, Gonzo seems like a very caring man!" said Granny reassuringly.

" _ **There's this guy called Nudge on** **board, but I have never seen him. I always hear his shower running and off-key singing coming from inside his room, though.**_ "

"Well, you can't say he's unhygienic!"

" _ **Zuko always hangs out at the top of the big mast. He gets really good views from up there!**_ "

"Something tells me that he's the lookout!"

" _ **Senza is really impressive! He's the heavy lifter of the ship and he moves the crates around** **like they're nothing!**_ "

"Well, he must be handy to have around!"

" _ **Mako is REALLY smart. He was talking all day yesterday about this one** **maths problem and answered that after the sunset!**_ "

"Oh, I say! Did he pass maths during his first year of school, then?"

" _ **Finally, Niko is the one I hang out with the most. He has this amazing set of ropes to swing across! Apparently, you spent some** **time with him, so can you explain why he keeps using these weird words? He referred to me as 'new twist' when we met and just now, he offered to 'put on the Hansel'. Do you know what he's saying?"**_

Granny paused. She didn't know what to think of that. "Well… Niko sounds very interesting."

Link smiled as he put Aryll's letter aside and looked at his other one.

The one from Tingle.

Uh-oh.

* * *

Link uneasily took a butter knife and cut open the top of the letter. He pulled the letter out.

This letter looked like more of a birthday card than a letter. The front had an expertly drawn illustration of Tingle flying with a red balloon attached to the back of his red trousers. "What could this be?" mused Link as he opened up the-

 **TOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!**

Before I could even finish my sentence, glitter flew into the air and a party blower unravelled out of the card and into Link's face. The glitter either landed in his hair or came to rest on the table and floor.

"Well, the card just sneezed on me. Great(!)" grumbled Link. He cleared his throat and began reading.

" _ **WHY, HELLO THERE, LUCKY READER! Tingle has just decided that he must tell everyone about his new talent! I have figured out how to piece together broken things! If you break an expensive** **vase or something like that, come and see me on my island! BYYYYEEEE!**_ "

"Oh, it's just an advertisement, Junior. I think you should just ignore that." said Granny in a very definite way.

Link knew better. He had seen Tingle before and he had even invited him to his island, so he sneaked the card into his bag. "Right, I need to go and finish what I started here, but there is something I must do here first."

Link turned and walked past Orca and Sturgeon. "What is it?" asked Orca as he watched Link start to climb the ladder to the first floor. He approached the wreath that used to hold his shield and begun digging in his bag.

"What is it, my boy?" yawned Granny as she clambered up the ladder after him. Her shaky hands caused the ladder to produce a loud rattling noise.

Link pulled out his old sword and shield out. As Granny watched, he placed the family shield on only one of the holders so it was slanted. He placed Trusty Rusty on the other handle in an opposite slant so the two crossed each other.

"Granny, this shield has played its part in keeping me safe. I found a different shield just recently, so I decided to retire this one so it doesn't get damaged any further."

Granny looked at the wreath, nostalgia shining in her eyes. "Oh! So that sword is now a family item as well! Very nice!"

Link could hear Orca quickly pulling himself up the ladder. "Interesting. That sword perfectly matches that shield. It was like they were meant to be wielded together," he mused "but do you have another weapon to use in its place?"

Link pointed downstairs to his new equipment, knowing it was safe to do so because the Master Sword was mostly hidden behind the Mirror Shield.

"Interesting… The blues are the same shade. I wonder if **those** were meant to be dual wielded as well." said Orca as he scratched his beard.

Sturgeon made a noise of interest. "Link, allow me to just inspect these two." he said as he moved the Mirror Shield away from the Master Sword.

Link held his breath. How would he explain why he had the Master Sword?

"This blade… it looks strangely familiar." mused Sturgeon. He put his hand on the handle and drew the weapon.

 **VOOM!**

"Hylia on a bike!" exclaimed Sturgeon, shocked by the weapon's glow. "Why does it glow like this?"

Link began thinking of something to say. He did NOT want to become the talk of the town again. "Well… Um… It's made of Luminous Stone! It lights up during the night!"

Sturgeon nodded understandingly and sheathed the blade. "I see..."

Before they could pursue with questions, Link leaped down, almost landed on Kevin and strapped his weapons to his back. "As I said, I really must go. I need to finish the last stretch of my journey. There is something I must finish." he declared as Granny shuffled down the ladder. Before he left, she pulled him into another hug and kissed him on the forehead. Sturgeon held in a guttural giggle. "Make your old granny proud, junior!" she said hoarsely, releasing him.

Orca reached down and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Yes. Make her proud, just like you did with me, boy."

"Keep taking advice to heart, Link!" chuckled Sturgeon.

Kevin approached Link and seemed to take interest in the Mirror Shield. He looked at his reflection, slowly inched his nose forward and stepped back abruptly, thinking that his reflection was another pig.

"I'll be back. I know it. Now, I have to go to an island. I don't know where it is or how far away it is, but I know I must go there."

Link looked at his old weapons up on the wall. They had served him very well. Now, they would no longer need to damage themselves for him.

A feeling of satisfaction crossed his heart as he turned and left the house, into the rain.

* * *

Link walked across the beach to the King of Red Lions, still in his other body.

"Sire!" called Link. Pupils returned to the boat's eyes.

"Yes, Link? How is your grandmother?" he asked immediately.

"She's fine! The fairy worked and I got some really good information from her! It's about where the Triforce of Courage is!" replied Link as he waded into the water and climbed aboard.

"What? Where is it?"

"The Ghost Ship!"

"The **what**?"

"The Ghost Ship! Apparently, it housed the Triforce of Courage!"

"My boy… the ghost ship sank. How could we get down to it? Can you dive?"

"It did? Oh, wait, no! Not the Ghost Ship! It's original self sank and the Triforce of Courage brought it back to the surface as the Ghost Ship. The Triforce did shatter into shards because of… the effort or something, but it's still in there."

"And… do you know how we find it?"

"Actually, I do. Granny told us that someone made a map of where the Ghost Ship turns up depending on the shape of the moon and this map also allows you to see it for yourself. Apparently, that map is down in an island called Diamond Steppe Island."

"Diamond Steppe Island..." grumbled the King, looking bitterly into the water.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong with the island?" asked Link, looking at the glowing reflection of the King's eyes.

"Diamond Steppe hasn't been accessed for years now. It is simply too high up to reach." said the King, a hint of regret in his voice.

Link thought for a while. He needed this chart. "Are there any… like, trees at the lowest part of the island?" he finally asked.

"Why, yes there is." answered the King. "Do you have an idea?"

"I got… a Hookshot in the Wind Temple. It's this straight hook on a chain that shoots out and then comes back. If it gets lodged into something and gets stuck as a result, it pulls the **handle** towards the **hook** instead!"

The King raised an eyebrow. "Really? Let me see it, please! I have to see this!"

Link obliged. He slipped the Hookshot onto his arm and pressed the button on the handle that was inside.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!**

The chain rattled through the air and then whizzed back into place in an instant.

"Link, that's fascinating!" shouted the King of Red Lions. "That might just work!"

"Where is Diamond Steppe, Sire?"

"It is one quadrant northwest of here, Link. Let's go, and fast!"

Link pressed down the sail button and shot off into the night.

* * *

"Here we are." said the King as they approached Diamond Steppe Island. True to his word and its name, the island was elevated above sea level and shaped like a diamond. There were several terrace-like levels of varying heights. Luckily, every single level had a palm tree. Link's plan was currently safe.

The boy slowed the boat to a stop and lined it up so that the first palm tree was in view but not too far away. If he couldn't see it then he wouldn't be able to hit it. If he was too far away, the Hookshot wouldn't reach.

"Right… Watch this, Sire. There's a little button in the Hookshot. When I press this button..." muttered Link as he felt around the inside for the trigger and accidentally pressed it.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!**

"Uh-oh!"

Before Link could press the trigger again to make the chain go back, it had lodged into the first palm tree.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHH!** "

 **THWACK!**

The boy shot through the air and crashed into the palm tree, his limbs wrapping around it as if he were a koala.

"Are you all right?" called the King of Red Lions from the sea.

Link yanked the Hookshot out of the tree and landed on the grass. "Yes, I'm fine, Sire! I'm just going to climb the rest of the island, find the chart of the Ghost Ship and I'll be right with you!" replied Link as if this was all normal.

Link surveyed his surroundings. A shallow stream flowed across the island, dropping in small waterfalls until it ultimately reached a small pond on the bottom part of the island. A few palm trees scattered the area, including the one Link had just latched onto.

Stepping forward, he hooked the next tree and got pulled up. He followed the stream up and repeated the process until he reached the fourth and final level.

This was where the stream began. A very small circle of water with a very weak geyser that shot out water to power the stream. Just past that was a deep hole that lead down into the depths of the island. The boy stepped over to inspect it.

"Hey."

"Argh!"

Link jumped into the air upon hearing someone calling to him. He whirled around to notice the shadow of a girl rising out of a bush. She was wearing black, cheap clothing and was wearing a black hat to cover her long, blonde hair.

It was Mila, the now poor girl that was returned to Mr. Bradford from the Forsaken Fortress.

"You? What are you doing here? How did you get up to the top?" stammered Link.

"I climbed. Same as you, I'm guessing." Mila replied. Despite now being poor, her voice still REEKED of posh.

"Well, not quite. What are you here for?"

The girl crossed her arms and looked away. "I'm looking for a treasure that resides here. It's bound to help get me out of poverty. What are **you** doing here?" she interrogated. Link stepped back a little. He was not used to this.

"Well, there isn't really… treasure in there." answered the boy.. "I'm looking for something called the Ghost Ship. There's a chart down there that allows you to see, and therefore, board it. I'm trying to find that."

"Huh! Is there really? Or are you just after the treasure as well? I bet you're just trying to tear my second chance of a good life away, aren't you?"

Link stepped back even further, almost falling into the pond behind him. "Look, there is no valuable treasure, OK? I need to find that map and only that map. Nothing else. You can come with me and look for treasure if you want, but all I'm after is the map!"

Mila looked at him, her eyes filled with uncertainty and surprise. "How can I be sure?" she asked.

"You can have any treasure that we find in there. Poverty is horrible and you deserve to get out of it. You will need it more than me. All I'm after is the Ghost Ship chart. Is that clear?"

Mila thought for a few seconds before she turned to face him. "All right. I trust you." she declared.

Link gave her an encouraging smile. "Good. Now, I'll go first. I'll scout ahead."

With that, he looked down the deep hole in the ground. It was pretty thin and lead down out of sight, but a wooden ladder was attached to one of the sides. The boy turned around and began to climb down the ladder. "Come on." he whispered to Mila. After some hesitation, she followed him down.

* * *

The two climbed down in darkness, Link staring downwards to see if he could see the end.

"Look! I see light! Down there!" said Link as he started crawling faster. Eventually, he was sliding down the sides of the ladder as if he were the zip on a pair of trousers, his hands skimming across the rungs like a xylophone.

 **Rappa-tappa-tappa-tappa-tappa-tappa-tappa…**

"Wait for me!" called Mila, struggling to catch up. Link passed down into a room and disembarked.

The room was wooden and rounded. Oily, uneven planks lined the area and abruptly cut off into a cave as if the wall had been demolished. The furniture in the room was very pirate-like, but very old. A rusted birdcage sat in the corner, leaning forward. An accordion lay on a broken seat, sprawled out like a dead snake.

Mila hurriedly climbed down the ladder and joined Link.

"You're fast! Please keep it slow for me." she panted. Link stayed serious.

"I think I might have to. This place could be full of traps." replied the boy, drawing his sword. The glow of the blade provided some lighting. Mila was very surprised, but she did not question it. "I'll scout ahead for us." whispered Link.

The boy and the girl walked through the mossy cave, Link slashing through cobwebs as they went. When they turned a corner, Mila found something on its side on the floor. She picked it up and showed her find to Link.

"Excuse me, but I've found something here. I think it's a lantern." she said. Link turned around and raised his sword to the item to shed some light onto it.

"That's a lantern all right." he whispered. "Put it on the floor, stand back and I'll light it. It appears to have some oil left in it."

Mila did as she was told. Link drew his bow and pointed the arrow inside the lantern. "Ignis." he muttered. Suddenly, the arrowhead turned into a red crystal and caught fire.

Mila yelped in shock and stepped back as the flames lit up the lantern. "What? How did you do that?"

Unsure of how to stop the spell, Link blew on the arrowhead instinctively. He seriously did not expect it to work but the spell dispersed, causing the arrow to revert to normal. "Well… It got taught to me. You need a source of magic to pull it off, though." he explained.

Mila picked up the lantern and looked at it from all over. This was no visual trick. "Interesting…" she mused. The duo advanced further on into the cave.

* * *

So far, all was good. The children had ran into no traps. Link slashed through another set of cobwebs. Despite his efforts, they were still getting covered in cobwebs and brown leaves. They looked like Halloween decorations.

Mila suddenly gasped and stood straight up.

"What is it?" Link said, spinning around.

"Do… do you feel that?" asked Mila as her voice quivered and cracked.

"Feel wh-" Link suddenly felt a chill up his spine. Like someone was making their hand crawl up his back like a spider.

"Mila, turn around a moment." ordered Link. Mila did so, barely daring to move her body. Link gasped at what he saw.

Several spiders, each about the size of your hand, were crawling all over her back.

"Oh… Oh… Mila, just wait there. I'll sort this out!" announced Link as he fumbled around in his bag.

"What? What is it?" gibbered Mila, quivering wildly.

Link slid his Deku Leaf out of his bag, lifted it above his head and swung it down. A massive gust of wind almost knocked the girl over. All of the spiders flew off of her and landed in a heap on the floor, where they scuttled away.

"What on earth were those?" stammered Mila.

"Spiders. They were all over- Oh!" yelped Link. He handed the leaf over to Mila. "Can you do that for me, please? I've got some myself."

Mila took the leaf and stared at it in surprise. To her, all this equipment was very strange, especially because it all managed to fit into a small bum bag. Nevertheless, the girl did as she was told. She lifted the leaf and swung it, the resulting blast of air almost causing her to topple over. All of the spiders flew through the air and scuttled off into the depths of the cave.

"Thank you." breathed Link as he took back the Deku Leaf and placed it back in his bag. Mila looked forward and noticed something:

Another room. Another similarly styled pirate room was sitting on the other side of the cave.

"Hey, we're there! Look!" she pointed behind Link to the room. Link turned and noticed that she was right. Wooden, uneven boards sat on the other side of the cave.

"Good work! Let's go!" Link ran after the room on the other side, but quickly stopped when he was confronted by a small pit.

It was small, but it wasn't short. It extended down for what seemed to be miles, but it wasn't exactly super wide. It was about the length across of a square bedroom in a regular house.

"Stop here." ordered Link, sticking his arm out so Mila wouldn't run in. "I have a grappling hook. If I shoot for that-" Link glanced upwards for something to grapple onto. A branch was wedged between a set of rocks at the perfect angle. "-branch up there. I'll swing across first and then I'll pass it back to you."

Mila recoiled and faltered a little. "Are you sure I can do it?"

Link placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. Just keep your hands on the highest part of the rope that you can reach so you have enough height. I shall catch you on the other side. I know what I'm doing."

Mila swallowed and then nodded. "All right. I trust you."

Link pulled out his grappling hook and aimed it. "Stand back so I don't hit you. The grappling hook will have to spin so I can build momentum." he explained to Mila. She did as she was told.

"Right..."

He started spinning the rope in circles before chucking it through the air. It slipped through the gap between the ceiling and the branch and wrapped around the target.

"Yes!" hissed Mila. Link moved his hands up the rope, leaped and swung across the pit.

"Okay, it's your turn! Don't worry. I shall catch you." emphasised Link as he released the rope. Mila leaned forwards and caught it.

"Is this thing secure?" she asked.

"Yes. It is. Just reach for the highest part of the rope you can and I'll catch you."

Mila held her breath and leaped up. Silently, she swung across the gap and hung onto the rope for dear life. She reached the other end and, just as he had planned, Link caught her and pulled her onto land.

"Thank you." panted Mila. Now that they were closer to the end, Link could clearly see a small pedestal in the centre of the room on the end. This pedestal displayed… a grey, dusty chart.

"There it is!" whispered Link. "The Ghost Ship chart!"

Mila began to step towards the room, but Link quickly restrained her. "Stop!" he said sharply.

Mila turned to him in shock. "What? What is it? We are there! Nothing's come to attack us!"

Link looked around warily in case of a sudden ambush. "That's what I don't like. It's just… too easy."

The boy edged forward. The road that lead into the room had a paved flooring. Some of the tiles were black, others were grey. The tiles were very unevenly placed. Both walls of this area were covered in holes.

"I'm just going to test something out. Just bare with me." said Link, taking a nearby rock from the floor and backing up a little. With a little bit of an aim, he tossed the stone onto one of the grey tiles. With the weight, it lowered into the floor. Suddenly, a crossbow bolt shot from one of the holes in the wall. As Mila flinched, the bolt disappeared into the hole opposite the one it had come from.

"Just as I thought. A trap. I'll need to watch were I step. You stay-" started Link. He turned to Mila and she was already gone.

"Mila? Mila? Where have you gone?"

Link heard Mila call to him all the way from the other side of the room. "I'm over here!"

"What?"

Mila had somehow sneaked past all of the trapped tiles and was now on the other side in the room.

"How did you get there so fast?" stammered Link.

"I'm just… good at this sort of stuff. Now, come on! We're there!"

Link did not need to be told twice. He slowly set off, making sure to stick to the black tiles. He slipped around suspicious moss that seemed to be placed to hide trapped tiles, he jumped around over trapped tiles and finally he started approaching the end.

"You're nearly there! Come on!" urged Mila as Link approached the small set of four stairs that lead into the room. Link took a risky jump over a rather large trapped tile and landed on the other side, losing his balance as he did so. Mila gasped as he stood on one leg and flailed like a scarecrow in a wind tunnel before he finally regained balance and ran up the stairs.

"We're… here." panted Link, catching his breath.

Mila eyed a treasure chest that stood just before the pedestal.

"All yours." said Link. He approached the map on the pedestal. "This is all I'm after."

Being rather poor, Mila wasted no time in diving into the chest and scooping up the contents. Inside was treasure, treasure and more treasure. Coins, goblets, pearls, necklaces, all of that.

While Mila dug away at the treasure, Link took the map off of the pedestal.

"Gotcha!" muttered Link. He was about to unravel the map and read it, but…

 **RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE!**

A massive earthquake appeared to shake the whole entire cavern. Wood started falling apart left and right. A giant bust of a pirate broke apart and crashed to the ground.

"Run, Mila! Hurry!" shouted Link as he began retreating. "Of all the times for an earthquake, why did it have to be now?"

Mila abandoned the rest of the treasure and settled for what she had got. She zipped past Link and nimbly avoided all of the trapped tiles. Link had pretty much forgot about the trapped tiles. He triggered several of them. Bolts were shooting at him left and right as Mila made it off of the treacherous road and to the pit. She leaped into the air and grabbed the grappling hook that Link had left there for easy access in a situation like this. Not dropping a single coin or treasure, she swung to the other side and landed in a heap on the floor. Her force caused the branch the grappling hook was attached onto to dislodge and plummet into the depths.

"Oh, no..." she moaned as Link ran towards her.

"Mila! The hook!" he shouted. The girl held the hook and rope aloft and then looked at where the branch once was.

"Link, you have to jump! There's no time to argue! You must jump across!"

Link looked at the gap and then at Mila. With no time to pull out the Deku Leaf, he leaped into the air. With a crash, he almost fell to his death but he managed to grab onto the edge.

"Don't worry! I'll help!" reassured Mila as she grabbed hold of him under his shoulders and began pulling him up with all her might. With a mighty grunt of effort, Link pulled himself up and grabbed the Grappling Hook, stuffing it into his bag.

"Thank you! Now let's get out of here!" shouted Link as he took Mila by the hand and charged down the path as the cave started to collapse. In moments they had arrived back at the ladder.

"Up, up, up, up, up!" repeated Link as he allowed Mila onto the ladder first and started pretty much running up after her. With a mighty crash, they heard piles of rubble rumbling under them, blocking off the way back in.

* * *

The two breathlessly emerged at the top of Diamond Steppe Island. Mila reached down and offered her hand to help Link out of the hole. They both sprawled on the grass, the sounds of grass rustling, the sea lapping and seagulls crowing filling their ears and the smell of freshwater and saltwater filling their noses. A lot better than the eerie silence and musty smell of the cave.

When Link stood up, he helped Mila up and could quite clearly see that she was moved to tears.

"Mila? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"You… You… Wait, what is your name?" she stuttered, choking on her words.

"Link."

"Yes. Link… I just think you helped me escape poverty!"

Link smiled, knowing that he had done more good than he was expecting. "Well, I'm glad I could help. Don't forget, you also helped me find the Ghost Ship chart. Without you, my trip would have been much- **MMMMPH!** "

With no warning, Mila threw her arms around him in pure delight. Link simply accepted her gratitude and returned the gesture.

"Link? Is that you up there? Are you OK?" called the King's voice from all the way at the bottom of the island.

Mila quickly jumped back. "Who was that?" she asked incredulously.

"Who is that?" shouted the King. "Did you find someone up there, Link?"

" _Crud."_ thought Link, cringing slightly.

This was going to be very difficult to explain.


	31. Let Go Of The Past

Link and Mila jumped down the different levels of Diamond Steppe Island and finally arrived at the bottom. They peered over the edge to see who was talking. All Mila could see was a little, red boat with the figurehead of a bearded dragon. Nothing out of the ordinary here. In fact, her father used to own a similar vessel.

"Who was talking just then?" asked Mila, scanning the water for anyone under there. Link cringed a little, knowing exactly what was going to happen. It was a habit, the King liked doing it, it was inevitable.

The King abruptly turned his figurehead. "Just me, don't worry!" he cackled. Mila leaped back in shock, giving a strangled cry.

"Yes..." started Link uncomfortably. "My boat talks. I think..." The boy squirmed as he tried to think of something a little more convincing than the truth. "I think that he's a wondering spirit that possessed a normal boat or something." he whispered. Mila stared at him for a while as if he had a third eye in his mouth but after a few seconds, she nodded.

"Who's that you've got there, Link?" asked the King as Link and Mila climbed down the rock wall to the boat. Mila splashed into the water.

"I'm Mila… talking boat. Link helped me not only escape the Forsaken Fortress, but poverty as well! I am very grateful!"

The boat raised an eyebrow. "I see… Link! Did you find the chart?"

"Yes, I did! It's right here!" responded Link as he clambered aboard, helping his new friend into the boat. He dug in his bag and pulled out the chart of the Ghost Ship. A cloud of dust flew into the air as he did so. The edges were torn and the map was soft as if it had been dunked in water.

The map was rather confusing to look at. It had a poorly drawn illustration of the Ghost Ship in the middle, enveloped by two circles. One was light and the larger one was dark. In the dark circle surrounding the Ghost Ship were several drawings of the moon in different phases. Lining up with the moons were rather random shapes.

"Sire? What are these things on the outside?" asked Link as he showed the map to the King.

"Those are different islands. I can recognise Greatfish Isle… That's Spectacle Island… That one's Crescent Moon Island… Link, do you see the moon?"

Link gazed into the night sky. Stars were still twinkling like sequins, but the moon was nowhere to be seen. Had it already sank beneath the waves?

"I can't see it, sire." said Link as he scanned the sky.

"The moon is usually still up at around this time. That can only mean one thing..." muttered the King.

"What is it? Another curse?"

"No, we are having a New Moon. The moon is hardly visible like this, but it is still there. The moon will always rise at night." answered the King. "Let me have a look at that map again."

Link turned the map around to show him once more.

"Hmmmmm… New Moon, New Moon, New Moon, Here it is!"

Link turned the map around. Sure enough, a black spot replaced one of the moons. This had to be a New Moon. That moon corresponded to… an island in the shape of an elf's head. A long top with pointy ears. "What island is this, sire?"

The King gravely responded. "That is… Tingle Island."

"TINGLE ISLAND?"

"Yes, Tingle Island. I know Tingle and he may be a bit strange, but… we don't have to go onto the island. Only near it."

Link hesitated before looking at Mila, who was completely out of the loop on what was happening and was almightily confused. "Mila, I remember where this island is and it is one… quadrant southwest of Windfall. Hold on and I'll give you a lift there."

"Thank you! I can't swim all the way back or this treasure will make me sink!" With that, the girl removed the treasures and placed them on the deck of the boat.

"Mila, was it? You put that gold in the pouch below deck so you don't lose it." said the King as he opened a small deck compartment. Mila looked down at the compartment and then at the King before she nodded and deposited the treasures.

"Hold on, Mila! The start of boating is always jumpy!" warned Link as he prepared to press the sail button.

"What do you mean jump- **AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!** " the girl screamed as the boat deployed its sail and flew off north.

The Ghost Ship Raid was nigh.

* * *

Mila had been introduced to the King after about a minute of uncomfortable silence. She had worked up the courage to talk to him and the two had conversed for a good while. In fact, the King was already warming up to her.

After about three quarters of an hour of sailing, Link finally started to see an island on the horizon. As he got closer to it, he noticed a giant, wooden tower looming up. The top of it was spinning and was carved and painted into a head wearing a green hood.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say… that's the place we're looking for!" stated Link. As they got closer, black clouds started forming out of nowhere and covered the sky. No rain poured from them but the temperature shot downwards.

"It is time, my boy." said the King. "Take the chart, hold onto it and find the Ghost Ship!"

The boy opened up the storage compartment and took out his map. He looked back up and…

" **Gah!** "

He recoiled at what he saw. The second he grabbed the map, the Ghost Ship turned up. It was a dozen meters ahead of him. The boat had tattered, white masts and rotted wood. Several of the supports holding up the guard rails were snapped and the whole vessel was transparent with a sleepy, blue glow around the edges. It looked strangely familiar to Link. He swore it had docked at Outset when he was a toddler...

"There it is." mused Link as he brought the boat a little closer. "The Ghost Ship."

He turned to Mila. The girl was just looking about, confused. "The Ghost Ship? Where? Where is it? Has it gone hiding?" she gibbered. Link calmly passed her the map. She looked at it in confusion for a moment but then she took it. As Link let go of it, the ship vanished from sight.

Mila squeaked as the Ghost Ship materialised in front of her and her only. "It's… terrifying." she shuddered. Link squeezed her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I can handle the rest from here. We're very near Windfall. In fact..."

"I can take you back home myself, Mila." finished the King. "All you need to do is hold on and steer."

Link paused a little, surprised by him finishing his sentence. "Yes, Sire will take you back home. Trust him. He'll get you to your father."

Mila nodded. "All right," she murmured, "I'll trust you, Sire."

Link gave her an inspiring smile and a nod, equipping his Hookshot. "Do you know where your father goes at night?" he asked.

"The pub."

"Well, you should check there first! Take him outside and show him what you've collected before anyone sees!"

Mila gazed over at where she thought Windfall would be. Link took the Ghost Ship chart and the ship faded back into view. In the time he had let it go, the Ghost Ship had gotten right up close and stopped just in front of Link's boat. He winced a little as it quickly burst into view, but he quickly realised that the boat appeared to be aware of his presence. It was just stopped sideways across from him as if it wanted him aboard.

"Okay, here goes…" mumbled Link as he aimed his Hookshot at the massive guard rail of the ship.

"Good luck..." said Mila.

"Yes, Link. I wish you the best." agreed the King. "I can sense that there are two Triforce shards in each room. Remember that well."

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! CHIK!**

The Hookshot stuck into the wooden guard rail and Link shot into the air. He had mastered how to work the Hookshot so instead of crashing into the rail, he flipped over it and tore the Hookshot free. When he landed on the creaky floorboard, he looked over the edge back at the King of Red Lions.

"Link, Mila is safe with me. I shall go to Windfall now and return as soon as I can." assured the boat. He turned his figurehead to the girl and swivelled himself sideways.

"Mila, I just need you to… press that red button near my tiller."

The girl squinted in confusion before gently pressing the red sail button. Nothing happened.

"No, the button needs a firm press to avoid accidental activation. Harder than that!"

Mila curled her hand into a fist and punched the button as hard as she could. In a flash, the boat shot off down the ocean, past Tingle Island and towards Windfall.

"I'll see you back in the land of the living, my boy!" called the King as he sailed further and further out of sight.

"Yeah, I'll come back in one piece! Just wait for me here when you're done!"

…

3...

2...

1...

"Hey, wait a second! What was that about the 'land of the living'?" questioned Link, but it was too late. The boat could no longer hear him.

He was alone.

On the Ghost Ship.

* * *

Link had hardly even been on the Ghost Ship and it was already making him feel like he was going insane. The white sails were torn and hanging limply in the breeze, the only sounds to be heard were creaking wood and soft, eerie wind. Link didn't want to stay here any longer, but he knew he had to. Looking wildly for where to go, his eyes settled on a breaking door that lead into the ship's belly.

 **Crrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkk…**

The inside of the ship looked surprisingly like Tetra's. A corridor containing a row of cabins. The differences were that Tetra's ship was in MUCH better condition and there were only four cabins in one row. This boat must have been through a tough time in its last moments... The boy was hoping it wouldn't abruptly sink with him still on it like the fate that befell-

...

Link had a rather stretched thought about where he was, but he didn't quite believe it, so he chucked it out of his head.

The boy approached the first cabin. Just before he could go in the door, he noticed a few words carved into the wood just to the left of the door. It was pretty jagged and rough, obviously having been done with a small knife.

" **Don't look away...** **"**

" _Don't look away_ _? From what?"_ thought Link as he blew some dust off the writing to make it clearer.

" **They are petrified. You will be to.** "

All Link did was blink and the writing had changed. For a moment, he saw something change positions in the cabin so he stepped inside.

* * *

Inside the cabin... was nothing like the inside of a ship. If anything, it was an old, abandoned house in the middle of a rainstorm. The flowery wallpaper was torn and the bare, stone wall behind it was cracked. A cold, non-functional heating device slumped against the wall and a surprisingly intact conservatory was behind a set of windows and two French doors. In that conservatory, a pair of sofas flanked a rough statue of a humanoid figure hunching over.

The objective seemed to be rooting through this room to find two Triforce pieces. This was easy enough... Too easy. There had to be more to it than that.

A bit of plastic tumbled from the ceiling, flipping like a gymnast and landing in Link's eye. His blink reflex kicked in instantly.

 **KERRRACK!**

When he could open them again, he felt like he was about to pass out, chuck up, scream or all three. As he shut his eyes, the figure in front of him had uncurled itself and, while still frozen, was now a few steps away from him, stretching its cold, sharp fingers towards him.

It was a Redead... or was it?

It had all the basics, such as the golden earrings, the tattoos, the shrieking mouth, the wide, empty eyes, all that. At the same time, it looked like it had fallen face first into a pool of cement powder and then stayed out in the rain. It was a statue of a Redead... that could only move when Link couldn't see it. He had never played a more terrifying game of Grandmother's Footsteps in his life. What did this thing intend to do with him?

Link's unsteady, unblinking eyes eyes scoured the room like a steel wool pad on a pan, finding something he could use for situations like this? A potion of unblinking was too specific... He didn't want to risk it coming to life by attacking it...

The boy edged around the room, turning to face the petrified Redead with every step. Even as he escaped its sight, the zombie didn't turn to face him back. Maybe it couldn't move so long as Link could see it. After all, the most effective attacks are done when your opponent can't see you...

 **BOOOM!**

From outside, a mighty thunderbolt struck the ship... or, the house in this case. In a flash, all of the flames in the room died out as if they had been put under a snuffer. Link knew exactly what was going to happen and why this happened... but it didn't lessen the shock value when they came back on an the Redead had gone from the very front of the room to right where he was. Its mouth was stretched open to inhuman sizes. It was bent forwards towards him as if any later would have been too late. If it could breathe, it would have been huffing right down his neck.

"How do I get out of here?!" Link exclaimed to himself as thunder boomed a second time, cutting the light once more. However, he sprinted through the French doors and into the conservatory, where natural light filled the place top to bottom. As he shoved it open, there was a chilling **CRAAAAASH!** as the Redead smashed through them to get after him.

In the illuminated glassroom, Link saw the faint outline of a chest directly in his way. For cover, any kind of cover being sufficiend, he dived inside, hoping for the best...

 **BUMP!**

He had to stifle a noise of pain because he had landed on two sharp, golden nuggets. Remembering all the depictions of the Triforce...

...Link realised that the two pieces in there were part of the Triforce. He was about to grab the both of them to try and use them as holy protection against the Redead... but they transformed into two specks of light, automatically flying straight into his pouch.

 _"Now what am I supposed to do?"_ Frustrated, Link drew the Master Sword, which was the second holiest thing he had and leaped out of the trunk...

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH...!** "

...but he was already back in the main room with no explanation. The Redead wasn't even there. Neither was the "cabin". Not even the entrance remained.

As Link took a moment to process all of this, he noticed something different about the hallway.

The floor was shrouded in fog.

It was like he was stepping on clouds. The boy could barely see the floorboards below him. Upon closer inspection, the fog seemed to swirl into the pattern of screaming faces.

He waded through the fog to the next room. Having taken a note from last time, he scoured the wall for any hidden text. Seeing some black lines encrusted with dust, he blew on the debris and the writing revealed itself.

" **THE GUARDS."**

* * *

This room was **very** different to the last. At least the last one looked like it could actually fit in the ship. This one was a series of winding corridors that seemed to snake further and further into nothingness. It seemed that this whole ship was like Link's bag: It could hold a lot more than it looked.

Link slowly stepped into the maze. Cobbles lined the floor like a British town. The walls were made of bricks.

 **Whooooooooooooooossssssssshhhhhhhhh…**

The boy turned left and quickly looked behind him. Something was making its way towards him.

" _The guards."_ recited Link as panic crept into him. The sound of blowing air got louder and louder as the urge to run got larger and larger. What did it was the sight of a scythe peering around the corner. His face turning white, Link dashed around the corner and out of sight.

" **Who goes there?** " came the guard's scratchy voice. Link ran harder and harder as he heard several more guards noticing his presence.

" **Face your death with dignity!** "

" **Give yourself up!** "

" **A fresh, red coat of paint for my scythe is nearby!** "

" **We can do this the hard way or the almost impossible way!** "

Link lurched down a left passage, picked up a rock and hurled it down an adjacent path to try and trick the guards.

" **He went that way!** " crackled one of the guards. Luckily not looking left first, a floating figure in a black cloak wielding a scythe went wafting after the stone, as did several others.

"Phew!" puffed Link as he turned around and…

ran straight into another guard. Seeing it from the front, it became apparent that the guards were cloaked skeletons that were missing their legs. Instead, they floated through the air. Their eyes burned with a blue fire and they wielded sloppily made scythes. Link jumped back and screamed loudly at the sight of the grizzly guard, who raised his scythe for a strike.

The boy leaped back out of the way just in time and took off down the corridors. " **Hey, everyone! He's gone this way!** " hissed the skeleton as he began to float after the stowaway.

" **We heard him going off this way!** "

" **Well, he tricked you! I'm chasing him right now!** "

" **You heard him! Let's get the intruder!** "

Panting wildly, Link unpredictably swerved around corners, took four right turns in a row to try and trick the guards into going the wrong way and he even doubled back and slid under his pursuer. These tricks worked rather well and, pretty soon, he found himself making a rather large gap between him and the guards. After blindly running around the maze for several minutes, he got a feeling that… he was getting somewhere. He ran around an abrupt corner and ended up in… a room.

The room had light and dark blue striped wallpaper, a red, fancy bench, a cabinet and another clothing trunk. The latter no doubt contained the next two pieces of the Triforce.

" **There's only one way in or out of that room! We've got him!** "

The voice of the guards behind him made him jump. He knew that this was very unlikely to work, but it was better than nothing. With a deep breath, he flung the trunk open and stuffed himself inside, shutting it after him. He landed with a bump on the two Triforce shards, which were transferred to his person quickly and quietly.

Despite the frigid temperatures, Link was sweating furiously as he heard the skeletal guard wafting into the room. " **Hey, where did he go?** " it wheezed. Did it really not realise the obvious hiding place right in front of it?

But he wasn't complaining. He was not only safe, but he had gotten two more shards of the Triforce. Once he was sure the guard was gone, he clambered out of the trunk and stepped onto the floor.

"Now, how am I going to get back from here?" mused the boy as he peered into the depths of the maze. He did NOT want to navigate through that again. He had only made it through the first time with pure luck, he did not feel comfortable with the prospect of round two.

Link shut his eyes in frustration and when he opened them again, the maze and the guards had completely gone. The room just lead straight back into the selection of cabins.

* * *

Now that Link had claimed two more pieces of the Triforce, the main room had changed even further. More fog was whirling around, completely blocking his view. A real pea souper. He could even-

" **Help us...** "

"Who's there?" Link turned around and drew the Master Sword. Had someone followed him on board?

" **Link, where are you?** "

"Stay back!" shouted Link. He could hear voices circling him from all over, yet he couldn't pinpoint their location. It was as if they were playing out loud in his mind.

" **Link, why didn't you help us?** "

" **Why did you let us die?** "

" **Liiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnkkkkkkkkkk…** "

" **Help us, Link!** "

" **We're all** **in here with you** **now, Link...** "

Link tried to force all of these voices out, but he started feeling a presence in the room. Floorboards creaking, the fog moving and sounds of breathing. maybe Link was just going mad, but he couldn't take this any more. His eyes wide and bloodshot with fright and terror, he sprinted into the next room without even reading the hint.

* * *

This room was a lot more realistic than the maze the last one held. A simple, rounded room that held a white chalk circle in the middle.

 **WHOOSH!**

Something came flying into the room from the door. Link whirled around to see what it was, but it had already vanished from sight.

With nervous sweat filling them, the boy's eyes darted around the room in the same kind of way you would move the camera in a video game when you hear the enemy music but don't see any enemies.

Except this was no game.

As Link looked in the dark corner of the room, he came across a pair of green eyes and a red, twisted smile.

"You!" he shouted, drawing his sword. The beast did not move.

"Very scary, kid." sneered the shape. "Maybe you want to come over here and scare me more?"

Link stepped back from the shape. "I'm not coming over there. I'll be in two pieces. I know you're hiding a weapon!"

…

…

…

No response.

Out of options, Link drew his bow and nocked an arrow. He lifted it to his face, aimed an arrow, pulled the bowstring and let it go.

The arrow flew through the air and before it even reached the shape, it zoomed from the shadows to attack. Instinctively, Link drew his sword and shield, blocking the attack with a little difficulty. With the beast no longer in shadows, Link saw that it was a human skeleton wrapped in a shroud and clutching a scythe like the guards in the maze.

" **Fear my wrath!** " bellowed the monster, spinning his scythe in front of him and advancing forwards. Before he could reach Link, he had already rolled out of the way. He rolled behind it and leaped up with a twirl.

 **CLINK!**

As if its bones were bars of iron, the sword simply bounced off of the skeleton. The hit made Link's arm go numb and he let it fall to his side.

" **Gotcha!** " The monster raised its scythe into the air to reap Link's soul, but the latter quickly pulled himself together and leaped backwards. With a horrible screech, the weapon dug across the floor like nails of a blackboard.

" **You'll never find my weakness!** " shouted the skeleton as he charged with his scythe upwards. Link stared at him, his attention caught by a green jewel in the middle of his ribcage.

" _I need to hit that!"_ thought Link as he dodged yet another blow. As quick as a flash, he drew his bow and fired. The skeleton tried to lower his scythe to block it, but the arrow sunk into the jewel. The skeleton let out a pain stricken yell, dropping its guard and its weapon. Wasting no time for this distraction, Link charged at it, leaped into the air and destroyed the jewel with a quick thrust. The skeleton thrashed furiously, roaring and screaming before it quickly hardened into stone, freezing and becoming as lifeless as the Ghost Ship.

Link, still shaking with adrenaline, sheathed his weapons. He was getting so uneasy that the Master Sword missed its sheathe on the first attempt. He was about to leave the room when a loud bang caught his attention. The statue of the skeleton crumbled into dust, leaving the next two shards of the Triforce in its place.

* * *

The main room had now changed rather dramatically now. Not only was there the fog absolutely **EVERYWHERE** but the roof appeared to have been ripped off of the boat, revealing a void of grey wind. The wind up in the void curled into screaming faces, just like the fog on the floor.

" **RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!** "

Link leaped into the air and turned around. He could have sworn he had heard a Redead screaming behind him, but there was no monster there.

" _ **He he he! If you valued your sanity, you would not have come here!**_ "

Link turned back in front of him, hearing the high voice of a ghost taunting him. Once again, nothing was there.

 **HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM…**

Link squeezed against the wall, hearing a Floormaster's void whirring near him.

" **STOP, INTRUDER! YOU HAVE BEEN CAUGHT! HANDS UP!** "

Link looked around wildly as guards from the Forsaken Fortress screamed in his ears.

"Link! Please help!" shouted a fragile, female voice as a harp clattered to the floor.

"Please! Put that knife away! Link! It's got me!" squeaked another voice, very young and male. Link heard a violin and bow smashing to the floor.

...It was both of his friends... The sages... The Ghost Ship was messing with him, depicted them being killed in the same way the last sages were... He felt sick. Faint. Dizzy. He screamed self-deafeningly as the foggy shape of a ghost screamed towards him and whooshed through him.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!** "

Tears of horror flooding down his face, he vanished into the very last cabin of the room, completely missing the oily writing on the door and completely bisecting it to get through.

" **LET IT ALL GO.** "

* * *

The boy crashed in a broken, sobbing heap on the floor, just in front of a tall mirror. He opened his eyes and thrashed wildly to wear himself out but he started to see a bright white, flashing light in his vision that turned on and off in rapid succession. It made all his movements seem really choppy.

His brain was wiped. His mind was blank. He couldn't focus on anything.

"Link..."

Upon hearing his name, Link focused on what he heard but he still didn't look up. This voice sounded female again, but it was much older than the last one. It did not sound terrified either.

"Link… Don't worry, I am with you once again."

Suddenly, Link felt a pair of arms around him.

…

Wait, who?

Link opened his eyes and looked in the mirror directly ahead of him. The reflection of a woman was seen in the window, her arms wrapped around him. A large, hairy man in armour approached him and pulled him up. Link felt all the hairs on his large hand.

It felt… strangely familiar.

The strangest thing was… there was no one beside him in real life. Only in the reflection.

"Please… help..." wheezed Link. His earlier screaming had hurt his voice.

"Even when we left you all those years ago… we have never stopped helping you. We shall help you one last time, son. My dear Link." said the woman in the mirror.

"Mum?" Link stared at the woman in the reflection.

"My son… I've got something for you!" trilled the woman. That was exactly what his mother would say in that very tone whenever she gave him something on his birthday.

"So do I, lad." rumbled the man next to him. In unison, they brought out the last two shards of the Triforce of Courage. With flashes of light, they both vanished and floated into Link's bag.

Link looked at the woman in the mirror and then at the armoured man. The reflections closed in and hugged him tight before fading away.

"Let go of the past, son. Have courage..." said the man, his voice fading away. As he finished speaking, a red, glowing pair of eyes lit up at the top of the mirror before they flashed like a camera. The boy tried to scream again, but nothing came out. The flash forced him to close his eyes.

He couldn't open them back up.

He began receiving consecutive mental images. They all played really quickly, like an animation. Link could make out Ganondorf sending monsters into the two temples to kill both the new sages, Ganondorf using a teleporting spell to go to Hyrule, Ganondorf finding the secret chamber and just as he was about to cast that killing spell on Princess Zelda…

Link felt the floor disappearing.

The boy forced his eyes open and quickly noticed the ship fading out of existence. He could see the little flames disappearing, the water rippling less and less, a carving of what appeared to be a person praying all the way at the front of the ship and the next thing he knew, he was falling at an alarming pace towards the sea, with not enough energy to even scream.

After landing in the water with a splash, the cold shocked him awake. He splashed wildly in the sea.

"Sire!" he spluttered. "Sire, where are you?"

With an agonising wait of what felt like years, Link felt the King's gunwale. He hauled himself aboard and sprawled on the deck, face white and eyes red.

"Link, are you all right? What did you see?" asked the King, turning his gaze onto Link.

"Sire..." croaked Link, resting a hand on the King's yellow nose. "I've… got it."

"The Triforce of Courage?"

"The Triforce… of Courage."


	32. Cold, Dead Eyes

Link lay on the deck for a total of twenty minutes. The King just left him in peace. He knew that his companion needed it.

When Link finally started to move, it was daylight. the King got straight to business.

"So, Link, how many shards did you get?"

The boy zipped open his bag and saw the golden treasures. Several of them were jagged all around but a few of them had straight, smooth edges. Link quickly counted them all up.

"Eight, Sire. Eight Triforce Shards," gibbered the boy, having still not quite recovered from the terrors of the Ghost Ship.

The King peered into the depths of the bag. "Now all we need to do is piece them all together. Only then will we have access to Hyrule."

"I don't like saying this..." started Link as he looked over at Tingle Island, "...but I think we have to stop at that island. More room to work with."

"I understand." said the King. He pulled himself around and cruised to the island.

* * *

 **CRRRRREEEEEAAAAAKKKKK…**

No, reader, you haven't been thrown back in time to the last chapter, this was the tower in the middle of Tingle Island spinning around. It looked like a giant totem pole with a spinning head. The bottom layers were of several different segments and colours and the island itself was shaped like the head of the tower.

Link disembarked the boat and walked up the rock slant that ended on the grass. He opened his bag once again and placed the Triforce shards on the floor in a lane.

"Right," said the King, "Firstly, we need to find the outline of the Triforce. That should make things easier."

Link listened to his words and sorted the Triforce pieces by edges. He moved the pieces that had smooth edges further towards him.

"So this piece goes… no, not there." grumbled Link.

"What about the one on your left? That one looks like it goes there!" suggested the King of Red Lions.

"Yes! I got it! **RATS!** It fell off!"

"Take your time. Just go slower."

"Do I have these two the wrong way around or something? Oh, that's better!"

"Now you just need to stack them!"

"Here we go!"

"Link, watch out! It's wobbling!"

 **CRASH!**

" **BLAST!** "

Link glared in fury at the shards of the Triforce. No matter how close he got to finishing the puzzle, it would always fall to pieces at the last moment.

"Link?"

"Hm?"

The King looked up at the spinning tower on the island. "That tower there… it seems to be being rotated by… people. My senses tell me that they are not our enemies. Maybe we can recruit them for help." he suggested.

Link gazed at the top of the tower. By really listening hard, he could hear sounds of grunting and footsteps. He was willing to bet that Tingle was up there but there was definitely more than one person with him.

"Wait!" shouted Link. He reached into his bag and found the card that Tingle had sent him.

"I got this card from the guy who this tower is based on! He said that he can fix broken things!" said Link as he fumbled around to open the card.

 **TOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!**

Bubbly music played once again as Link flung the card open.

"Look!" said Link as he showed the card to the King of Red Lions, who began reading through the letter. He mumbled the words under his breath as he skimmed through it.

"We're in luck!" announced the King when he finished. "It seems that Tingle knows a lot about repairing!"

Link turned to the spinning tower. A wooden ladder lead into a large gap between the tower and the head. This was where the people in there seemed to reside. "I'll go up and see him. Maybe he can help with this."

"One more thing!" called the boat as Link began to make his way to the tower. The boy turned back to face him.

"Don't tell him that this is the Triforce. If he finds out, he may accidentally delay us."

Oh. Link hadn't thought of that. The Triforce of Courage seemed very important and if Tingle found out, he may spend minutes marvelling at it. They were not sure that they even had minutes.

"Don't worry!" said Link. "I'll just tell him that I found this in a shipwreck and that I now need him to piece it all back together. That should do the trick."

The King furrowed his brow and looked up at the spinning tower. "All right. I trust that your plan will work." he said. "Good luck."

* * *

Link climbed up the thin ladder up the tower. The ladder was held together by ropes and some planks wobbled when he stepped on them. With every one of them making him feel like they were going to give in, Link finally pulled himself onto the platform at the end of the ladder. He was between the body of the tower of the spinning head.

Holding the head up was a big, wooden pole with two handles sticking out of opposite ends. These were being used by two people who looked exactly like Tingle. The two men were straining breathlessly as they dug their curly shoes into the ground to push the head around in circles.

The two men were dead ringers for Tingle, the only differences being their clothes. One was in pink and the others were in white. The pink one's trousers were magenta and the white one had dark yellow trousers. They both wore the same stopwatches as Tingle around their necks and they had almost the same facial appearance, but the one in white didn't have fake blush applied.

"Which one of you two is Tingle?" asked Link. The two stopped pushing and stared at him. They then looked at someone who was hidden behind the pole.

"Did someone call Tingle? Did they?" came Tingle's high voice from the other side of the post. The other two continued pushing the giant head in circles as Tingle waddled around to Link. "Oh! It's Mister Fairy from Windfall Island! It is, it is, it is!" he squeed.

"Yes… I got your letter. I need your help." admitted Link as he held up Tingle's letter. Tingle's eyes widened and began glistening.

"Yes! Yes! Tingle's father said that this would never work out for him!" he cried. "What is it that you need repairing, good sir?"

Link put his hands behind his back and hung his head a little, knowing that this was a **big** risk. "Well, I've found a replica of the Triforce of Courage but it's all broken! I've definitely found every shard of it, but I need you to help put it all back together!"

Tingle studied the boy's sweating, beaming face with suspicion. He took a while, processing what had just been said and whether he believed it.

"Can Tingle… see these 'shards'?" hummed the man. Rather reluctantly, Link dug in his bag and pulled out the shards, placing them on the floor.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." rumbled Tingle. He moved the pieces of gold across the floor. "Tingle needs more room to work with here. He'll see you at the bottom!" he whooped. Suddenly, a balloon started inflating from his back. It got bigger and bigger until it eventually started cramming Link into the rotating post.

"David Jr.? Burst this balloon for Tingle, will you?" grunted Tingle. Rolling his eyes, the man in white took a drawing pin out of his pocket and prodded the back of the balloon.

 **BANG!**

The balloon farted through the air at tremendous speeds with Tingle still attached, screaming in exhilaration before landing flat on his face on the grass.

 **CRUMP!**

"Tingle's OK!" called Tingle, quickly lifting his head out of the ground.

A little bemused, Link began sliding down the ladder after him.

 **Rappa-tappa-tappa-tappa-tappa…**

As soon as Link reached the floor, Tingle jarringly got all serious.

Well… kind of.

It's hard to take someone seriously when they refer to themselves in the third person.

"Right, Tingle needs to see the gold shards again. He has more room to work with."

Link laid out the pieces of the Triforce of Courage onto the floor. Tingle began to scrutinise them.

"Right, then… This one looks like a bottom part to me… This goes here. This one has a really nice corner here. This looks like it could be either the side or the top! This one… All the sides are jagged. This must be a middle piece. Ah! This spot is perfect!"

Link watched as Tingle began placing all the shards together. As he stared in awe, he noticed something odd.

When Tingle placed two of the right pieces next to each other, they would appear to merge. A big, gold light would illuminate the lines separating the pieces and when it faded, the two pieces would become one.

"And that, and that, and that, and that, and **THAT**! All done!" trilled Tingle as he dropped the top piece on last. The piece merged into place and…

the Triforce of Courage was whole again.

"And Tingle is done! Wow! It looks so lifelike! Just like the real Triforce! Anyway, I have work to do, so I'll see you later!"

A new balloon began to inflate out of his back. He prepared for take-off as the balloon gradually filled slower and slower until…

…

…

…

Nothing happened.

"Oh… Well, this is embarrassing. Would you mind helping Tingle?" beamed the man, looking back at Link. Unsure of what to do, he just drew his sword and poked the balloon with it.

 **BANG!**

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

Tingle shot through the air erratically once more before he zoomed into the platform of his tower.

 **CRAAAAAAAAAASH!**

Link tore his gaze back to the Triforce. Slowly, majestically, it began to rise into the air, spinning like a mirror ornament as he did so. It gently started to glow with magical energy.

" _What is happening?"_ thought Link as the Triforce suddenly started to shrink. With a flash of light, it shot towards Link and disappeared into his dominant left hand.

Link held the back of his hand up to his face. Just barely, he could see the shape of the Triforce. The one on top, the bottom-left one and the Triforce of Courage, the latter of which was emitting a faint light through his skin.

* * *

"Sire! The Triforce! It just disappeared into my hand!" shouted Link as he dashed into the sea and aboard the King of Red Lions.

"Wait, it did?" spluttered the King. Link nodded furiously.

"What does that mean?" asked the boy as he stretched out the skin on his hand to try and make out the symbol. He then turned to look at the King's figurehead for a response.

The boat smiled proudly. His pupils widened as he noticed the Sierpinski Triangle.

"Why, Link… The Triforce of Courage… It now dwells with in you!" laughed the King proudly. "Do you know what this means?"

"No, what?"

"It means that you have fully proven it to the gods! You have controlled the wind, travelled the ocean, saved several people and even fought the incarnation of evil! You are a true hero! You shall now be remembered as **the** **Hero of Winds!** " bellowed the boat, raising his head into the air. As if cheering, the wind shot in a circle around Link, ruffling his clothes and his hair. It whooped past his ears and almost lifted him off the deck.

The boy was completely unable to form a logical sentence. He could not believe what he had just heard. Him? A hero? I mean, he'd heard it before but… the Hero of Winds? That sounded like the title of the Hero of Time.

His name was not 'Hero', though.

It was Link.

He just wanted to be a normal member of society.

"Now, there is no time to lose! We must depart for the Tower of the Gods at once! We must go back to Hyrule!" said the King, jarringly switching tone.

"Oh! Right! Hyrule it is, then!"

Link turned the boat a little, activated the sail and shot off towards the Tower of the Gods.

" _Hang in there, Zelda."_ thought Link. _"I'm coming."_

* * *

"Um… Sire?"

It had been a rather silent trip to the Tower of the Gods. Link had just now decided to break the silence as the tower began to rise on the horizon. The King seemed to jump his head a little before he looked around.

"Hm? Yes? What is is, my boy?"

"I just wanted to say… thank you for all your help."

Suddenly, the King made a stifled noise and he seemed to flinch a little in surprise.

"What? But why?"

Link looked at him as though he had just declared himself to be a flying blue cow. Probably wouldn't be too out of place in this story, but still.

"Is something wrong? You've been nothing but a hero to me this entire journey! You deserve more than my thanks!"

The King let out a big breath and looked into the ocean, his nose almost skimming it.

"Unfortunately not. I am not a good person. I went about this all wrong." he said quietly.

Link looked at the King's drooping head and then at the Triforce shape in his hand.

"But, sire, if you didn't help me through this… I would never be able to stop Ganondorf. I wouldn't have been able to help all these people. Not the Rito, not the Koroks, no one at the Forsaken Fortress, not even my own sister. I wouldn't have returned colour to Hyrule and I wouldn't have been able to return the power to the Master Sword. To put it simply, To say you're a bad person completely wrong!" said Link, trying to sound as cheery as possible but what the King was saying was making him feel awful.

"I… Thank you, Link." said the King, his voice cracking a very slight bit. " **Look out**!" The King's voice suddenly broke into a shout. Link snapped into focus and noticed that he was heading straight for the wall of the Tower of the Gods. With a yelp, Link steered the boat through one of the towering arches. He lowered the sail back into the boat and slammed on the brakes. The boat came to an abrupt stop and lunged forwards, the King's figurehead splashing into the water.

"Sire, how do I open the portal?" asked Link hurriedly. He needed to get down to Hyrule to check on Zelda immediately. He was getting that feeling of 'Two Possible Outcomes And The Worst Is Most Likely'. In fact, he had already started making preparations for the worst.

"Don't panic, stay calm." said the King soothingly. "Raise your left hand into the air with the back facing the tower. That should reopen the portal."

Link looked at the King's face. With a deep breath to calm himself, he raised his hand into the air.

The Triforce emblem began to shine and shine and shine. The light burst out of his hand, the bottom right triangle especially standing out. A column of light exploded from the mark and into the air. With a magnificent curve, it slammed down into the sea in the centre of the Tower's walls. Link shielded his eyes from the intense burst of light. When he opened them again, there stood the portal to Hyrule, glimmering like the sun.

"I can sense the Princess. She is still in Hyrule." said the King. He seemed very thoughtful at this moment. Link could hear him mumbling thoughts out loud.

Thinking of Zelda made Link feel guilty. He missed her. He knew that he had to leave her down there, but he also felt that there was another way that they could have sorted things out.

No, the King was right. Hyrule truly was the best option he could have chosen.

 **SPLASH!**

While Link was daydreaming, the King had cruised into the ring of light and sank beneath the waves to Hyrule.

* * *

The companions drifted down through the ocean back towards Hyrule. For some reason, it made Link feel very… nostalgic. He remembered it. The snaking seaweed, rising rocks, colourful coral, Link remembered every last detail. In fact, I'm feeling nostalgia from when I wrote that chapter on a bus going to a driving safety presentation for college!

…

What? I wasn't speeding! It was for college! Don't know what it had to do with Animal Care, but I digress.

Anyway, Link and the King lowered through the barrier of water and into Hyrule. The boy and his boat began frantically scanning the area. The castle still had several points that rose into the air, the bridge was still intact, the castle was still standing, everything looked fine.

"Phew! It seems that there's nothing to worry about!" gasped Link in relief. The King looked back at him sternly.

"Don't think like that. Looks can be deceiving. Before you jump to conclusions, you must find the princess and ensure that she is safe." he said seriously as he landed with a gentle plop in the pond. Link turned to him and then at the castle.

"Maybe you're right… That's a good point… Oh, no!"

Link immediately stepped out of the boat and began to run, but he heard a loud noise behind him. The sound of glass breaking.

"What was that? Did you break your eye?" Link said as he turned to the boat.

The King had… a pained face. "No. My eye is just fine. I just tried to go back to my other form. Something just stopped my magical transfer!"

"Oh… so that means that Ganondorf must be here! **Oh no!** " Panicked Link. He began to turn to run into the castle.

The King remained calm as he spoke. "I shall try my best to break whatever curse has been placed on me. You go and find the princess, son!"

"Roger!" announced Link. He drew the Master Sword and sprinted through the pond and into the castle, leaving the King to think to himself.

"Who's this 'Roger' fellow?" he murmured.

* * *

Link puffed and panted as he dashed through the front entrance to the castle. When he saw the once-magnificent hallway, he actually stopped moving while still going at some speed, causing him to crash to the floor.

"Oh, my..." muttered the boy as he propped his head up.

Why did I call the castle 'once-magnificent'?

Well, several pillars had been smashed to the floor, the carpet had been torn up, red curtains had been torn from the walls, windows had been smashed and the giant chandelier had come crashing to the floor. Shards of its glass were strewn in a circle around it like the blood of a body.

Worst of all, the statue of the Hero of Time had been destroyed. All that remained on the pedestal was its legs. The rest was all pathetically beaten to the floor.

The severed torso of the statue gazed lifelessly at Link with cold, dead eyes. his sword still in hand, now pointing backwards. The statue's pedestal seemed a little… further back than usual. It was very strange.

" _Why would Ganondorf want to move this statue?"_ thought Link. He pondered on the answer for a while.

" _ **Zelda, I must ask you to stay here in hiding for a while. We can't let Ganondorf find you, now that he knows who you are."**_

" _ **Even if he did find the castle, we have this chamber."**_

" _ **He may be aware of Hyrule, but this chamber is a secret from him."**_

"The secret chamber." breathed Link as his heart dropped. " **OH, NO!** "

The boy ran to the other side of the pedestal. The chamber had been forced open and was now exposed.

Ganondorf had found the Princess's hideout.

"No..." gasped Link as he took a step back. "There was a fire and… someone turned up and had to force the hideout open! Yeah! That's it!" he deduced, now in complete and total desperation. He stayed there for a good few seconds with a massive, nervous grin on his face before he quickly sprinted down the steps.

"Zelda! **TETRA!** "

* * *

" _Please. Let this all be a big dream. I know I've been through some truly great things here, but I don't want my quest ending in a failure!"_

Link ran into the chapel. He expected to see the room empty and destroyed. He expected to see it overrun with monsters. He expected to see Zelda missing or dead.

He didn't see any of that.

Not a crack was cursed onto the stained glass windows.

Not a sword was broken from the statues.

Not a hint of evil soaked the water.

Not a chance that Zelda was gone.

She was standing on the dais surrounded by water in the middle of the room.

"Zelda!" panted Link as he dashed down towards her. "You're safe! Thank goodness!"

Zelda was silent. She was completely motionless.

"Zelda?"

Finally, she turned her head. Link almost screamed the windows to pieces at what he saw.

Everything was normal, except for her eyes. Her pupils were black, just like normal, but her irises were yellow and the sclera was blood red. It was as if she had been taken over by a Poe. Her mouth was agape with terror.

With a giant flash of light, she completely vanished, leaving Link's heart rate nearing dangerous levels.

" **Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.** " came a barbarous voice that begun to snake into the room. " **The great hero of our generation is scared by an illusion! I laugh to think of what your descendants will be like! They'll definitely be running from moths!** "

Link drew the Master Sword and aimed it around the room wildly. "Ganondorf! You can't handle me! I've got the Master Sword!" shouted the boy. He was trying to fake Ganondorf out by making the evil man think that the Master Sword still had no power.

" **So, you not only think that a powerless weapon will keep me at bay, but you also th** **ought** **that your** **precious** **princess will be safe in Hyrule Castle of all places?** "

Link's hands were filling with sweat as he gripped his weapons. It was almost making him drop them to the floor. "Come out and face me! Then we'll see who's laughing!"

" **Listen, boy. Not all stories end like you would want them to. This one has no happy ending! None of that! Not when I'm at my full strength!** "

"Where's the princess? Where have you taken her?"

" **She is with me. If you just accept your burning fate, no harm will come to her.** "

"'Burning fate?"

As if to answer his question, a lit match fell from the ceiling and knocked to the floor. As if it had been doused in petrol, the whole room immediately caught fire.

Link immediately began coughing from the smoke. He started scrambling to the exit but fire blocked his path like a defensive wall in a game of football. A burning pain made him leap. It wasn't just a force of nature, the blaze was hunting Link and it had slightly burned his back. The water that surrounded the dais looked just about deep enough to fully submerge in, and his sizzling back would benefit greatly from its low temperature. He dived in and twisted so he was belly up, feeling instant relief as the cool water lapped over his burn marks.

He shoved off from the wall, sailing clean under the flames and then emerging on the other side. The moment he reached the end, he leaped up and ran, almost on all fours, back to the main room, trailing smoke behind him.

* * *

Choking his way up the stairs, Link sprawled to the floor back in the main room. He could still hear crackling from the fire below.

Ganondorf had taken the princess.

But where?

When his coughing fit went away, the boy stood up and surveyed the wrecked room. He looked at the doorway that led to the King of Red Lions. Nope. Nothing to see there.

He directed his gaze opposite the entrance. On the other end of the room was another doorway that seemed to lead out of the back of the castle.

Link **had** to go that way.

There was no way around from the other door and Ganondorf can't have gone back to the sea. He had to look for her over there.

As the fire burned below him, Link stood up and headed for the new door.


	33. The Monstrous Marionette

Link ran outside the back door and across another bridge. This one stretched high up over a deep moat. Panting wildly, Link scanned the area. Ahead of him was a huge, grass field. Small mountains stood after it, blocking the horizon. Just past those stood a high tower. It was tall, thin and made of black granite, which almost managed to touch the bubble which stopped the sea completely flooding the kingdom.

 **CRASH!**

Suddenly, Link felt himself thrown back against the floor. His face was stinging. It was as if he had run into a brick wall.

"What was that?" huffed Link as he got back up. He looked ahead of him. Nothing was there. The boy began to walk forwards with his arm extended. Just as expected, he brushed against something.

A large, invisible barrier separated him from the field ahead. From close up, Link could hear its magic whirring.

Was there any other way around it?

No. It seemed to extend all the way around to the sides of the castle.

The boy slipped into deep thought. The barrier had to go somehow…

The King's words from the last time they were here made their way into his head.

" _ **I sense that there is a dark barrier in this area, which blocks [the temples] off.**_ "

" _A dark barrier..."_ thought Link as he nudged the barrier with his hand.

" _The power to repel evil..."_ Link drew his sword and looked at its shining blade.

"I've got it!" he declared. He took a deep breath, lifted the Master Sword and brought it down with all his might. The Master Sword cleanly cut through the barrier like a knife through melted butter. It was so smooth that Link thought that he had missed it for a moment. He was about to line up for another swing when he noticed something.

A little purple spot was growing. Where? Well… I can't tell! It was just… growing on thin air. It spread faster and faster, reaching up and up and up, going around in circles, the barrier was turning to glass! Finally, the barrier was completely solidified. A giant, purple cylinder of glass wrapped around the whole castle and reached into the deep moat.

 **CRACK!**

A giant split appeared in front of Link in the glass. It paused for a few seconds as if warning Link about falling shards and sure enough, like a spider spinning a web, the crack started whizzing up thewall, branching off into separate paths. For a few seconds, it looked like the rippling white horses in a purple ocean before finally…

 **SMASH!**

The barrier completely smashed into bits. Massive, sharp shards of glass came raining down, Link's terrified face reflecting in them.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!** " cried the boy as he sprinted over the rest of the bridge and into the entrance of a surveillance tower. He slammed the wooden door behind him. Outside, he heard glass smashing on the bridge.

That was the barrier out of the way… but that was the easiest part. Storming the castle was bound to be much harder. Even so, he breathed a sigh of relief and creaked the door open. Shattered shards of glass were strewn all over the bridge. They were glinting in the sunlight like diamonds, but they were a bit of a nuisance. They crunched underfoot and almost made Link fall over several times.

* * *

Stumbling the rest of the way across the bridge, he finally made it into a grand field. Fresh air filled his lungs. It felt amazing. The boy could smell all the dew on the floor, but he could also smell the saltwater above. It reminded him of when he would wake up early to take a stroll outside.

Link scanned the fields. He glared at the towering mountains blocking off entry to the tower ahead. "I can't climb all that in what little time I have…" he muttered. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

A small tunnel wove through the mountain straight in front of the tower. If there was any way inside, that was it.

Wary of surprise monsters, Link trekked across the meadow. Grass hissed at his boots, daisies bent as he went, the ravine just ahead of him stretched down into sharp rocks…

Almost falling into it, Link wobbled forwards and flailed his arms wildly before leaping back with a gasp. Of course! The tunnel just had to be separated from him!

Just to his right was a white bridge of stone. It appeared to once be joined onto the tunnel, but the middle had been destroyed, no doubt by Ganondorf.

Was there wind down here?

Link looked at the grass, hoping for any kind of breeze to confirm his hope.

…

…

…

 **Whooooosh…**

The grass slowly moved around a little. The wind blew as if answering him.

 **Whooooosh...**

Without him even having to conduct the Wind's Requiem, the wind picked up and blew towards the cave.

It had an idea.

Link stepped to the ledge and looked down in confusion. What did the wind expect him to do?

The wind sighed in exasperation and shot off for a second. It made its way to a nearby tree. Gently, it prised a leaf off one of the branches and came brushing back along. The wind landed it in Link's hair. For a moment, he untangled it from his locks and looked it over, but he quickly figured it out. "Oh! The Deku Leaf! Good idea!"

As the wind gasped in relief, Link pulled out his Deku Leaf. Once again, a tailwind formed from behind Link. With a breath inward for luck, Link leaped off the bridge and floated through the air, landing squarely on the other side. With the gap now behind him, Link entered the tunnel and walked and walked and walked until the jagged rock walls turned to black bricks.

Finally.

He was in the tower.

 **GANON'S TOWER.**

* * *

The way into the tower was surprisingly sophisticated. Marble pillars held the ceiling up and a red carpet with neat, clean tassels rolled to an apparent dead end in the distance. Candelabras lit the room a crimson red and carefully, painstakingly painted portraits of Ganondorf and his past family sat propped on the walls. Even with all this relatively normal, yet rich décor, it had a single detail that threw Link off. Skulls.

Each one looked real enough as they weren't perfect. Some had missing teeth. Others had big cracks at the top. In the face of their blemishes, they had been polished and neatly put on the pillars as a warning to any who approach and oppose him.

As the boy shuffled through the castle, the paintings all seemed to stare at him. This encouraged him to remember the King. How was his attempted transfer going? Was he back to being a King? Somehow, he knew he was waiting in this castle. The boy just hoped that he'd be alive to see the man who was now his father figure again…

The end of the hallway was dominated by a great pit, like the entrances to the Earth and Wind Temples. Like those cases, the boy couldn't see the bottom and this time there wasn't anything to drop inside and test the depth with. It was either another long way down or it was just very dark in there. Link didn't like the idea of any of those two… but it was the only way forwards to Ganondorf. His only opportunity to help Tetra

The boy took a run up, sucked a gulp of air into his lungs and leaped silently into the hole.

* * *

Link was falling through the darkness for thirty seconds. It felt like minutes because he was falling and time seems to stop as you plunge through the wind, but… he started slowing down in midair.

It was as if someone was slowly inverting gravity. Link slowed down further and further and further until he was barely falling. He couldn't even tell because he had gotten used to the terror of falling and he had his eyes clamped shut.

Slowly, gently, the gravity scooped him up and lowered him to the floor.

 **Clack!**

The boy prised his eyes open. He had landed safely on a circle of dark bricks.

This room was circular and tall, just like the last one. This time, the walls were a lot more stylised. Red bricks were specifically placed to form murals and in a circle all around him were large push-up doors.

"Which one am I meant to go through?" mused Link. He looked at every single one, but they were all the same. No door gave even a slight hint about what to do.

His eyes worriedly drifting to the middle of the room, he noticed a small stone tablet. In desperation, Link ran over to read it.

" _The sword hilts of my servants who lurk deep in the darkness shall be the guideposts that point to me."_

Link frowned at the sign. Sword hilts? Servants? Point? To whom?

" **Welcome to your grave!** " came a deep, gravelly voice behind him.

...That was whom, apparently

Link turned around and pulled out his weapons. Behind him stood a shadowed figure of a man in a Viking helmet and a tatty cape with one arm and leg reduced to nothing but bone, floating into the air with his skeletal hand gathering a ball of blue electricity.

Phantom Ganon was back for round two.

With a loud scream, the phantom hurled the ball of energy at Link. It was as if he had learned nothing. Link already had a counter to this strategy. Did he know something that Link didn't?

With a confident jump, Link returned the attack back at the monster, just as he did before. He couldn't help but notice that, with the full power returned to the Master Sword, the ball seemed to fly twice as fast with each of his strikes. The phantom returned it, as he did before, Link returned it, sending the ball back even faster…

The ball shot back and forth, now taking less than half a second to reach the receiver. Both Link and Phantom Ganon were swinging their swords as if they were holding off tens of thousands of enemies at once, but Link was fast running out of stamina. He could have done with a ball boy carrying a towel and a water bottle at this moment. The ball was travelling so fast that one swing of the sword was enough to return the ball twice.

Link kept returning the ball of magic as best he could. Finally…

 **BOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The sheer speed of the attack sent Link flying across the room like a bullet. He crashed upside down into the wall on the other side with a **CRUMP!**

Sliding painfully down the wall, Link blearily remembered the first time this happened. The battle had started off the same way as last time.

" **No sword of all things will ever defeat me!** " cackled the soldier as he raised both of hands into the air and screamed with effort. Before Link's eyes, a fireball began to grow in the middle of his hands. It got fiercer and fiercer and fiercer until it was the size of a large exercise ball. Standing up with some difficulty, Link began to run away as the Phantom prepared to throw it…

Except… The phantom didn't throw it. The fireball burst into several different projectiles, which all homed in on Link. He ran alongside the outer wall of the room as all the fireballs crashed behind him, leaving smoking scorch marks behind. The phantom vanished into thin air.

All was quiet.

Walking carefully to make sure that Phantom Ganon had really fled, Link went to the middle of the room to decide which door to go through.

" **Feel the wrath of my blade!** "

Link jumped in terror as Phantom Ganon materialised in front of him, his sword in the air-

Wait, scratch that, he was to his right-

No? He was to his left…

and behind him?

Phantom Ganon had created clones of himself and had surrounded the boy, ready to bring his swords down.

" **HEEYAH!** "

Just as the phantom and his three clones swung, Link leaped from the stone tablet and into the air. With a swift movement, he scurried around the four phantoms like a little green mouse, slashing at them as he went. The three clones vanished, leaving the real phantom to take Link's real attack.

 **SMASH!**

With a single strike, the phantom disintegrated, screaming as he did.

 **FFSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!** " **AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaarrr** rrrrrrrr-"

"Wow!" whispered Link, staring at the Master Sword. "This thing is more powerful than I thought!" He hummed in thought for a while as he surveyed the doors. Which one did he need to go through?

 **CLANG!**

As he decided, Phantom Ganon's discarded sword fell from where he perished, landing on its blade and toppling like freshly struck timber.

He was showing no signs of returning.

Link raised his finger and turned, starting from a random door. "Eeny, meeny, miny… you."

Choosing the door directly to the left of him, Link lifted it up and walked inside.

* * *

The room was scarily identical to the one Link had just been in. It was like he'd just walked through a mirror… Link looked left and right, sceptical of how quickly Phantom Ganon went down. After all, he thought he'd fallen at the Forsaken Fortress and that aged like casserole in the desert. Maybe the Master Sword was indeed strong enough to vanquish such an evil spirit in one single hit.

 **Whooooosh!** " **Huh ha ha ha ha ha!** "

A familiar, cruel laugh filled the room once more.

"What?!" shouted Link. He spun around as fast as he ever had, but Phantom Ganon held his fiery inferno above his head once more, ready to unleash its flames on the boy before him.

" **Stay still so I can crush you!** " roared the monster as its attack neared completion. Link stared at the intense fireball as it grew larger and larger, ready to unleash its wrath. The boy pulled his bow out, aimed an Ice Arrow and fired.

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The second the Ice Arrow hit the fireball, it caused a reaction. The fireball exploded violently, drowning out the phantom's scream. His sword dropped from the cloud and rattled to a stop on the floor.

"So… he obviously isn't dead. I'm not falling for that again. But which way do I go?"

Link looked at the dissipating explosion cloud and then around himself.

…Perhaps back the way he came? If so, that's an amazing trap, admittedly. One would never expect the way forward to be where they just came from.

Going through with this strategy, Link opened the door he came in through and headed back to the inside.

* * *

" **All right. No more games.** "

"Uuuugh!" groaned Link as Phantom Ganon rose before him once more. The ghoul thrust his hand into the air once more, throwing a ball of crackling hot electricity.

It was another round of tennis. What was going on? Its attack patterns were never different. Even the smallest movements were mirroring themselves. They were like premade animations.

Putting all his energy into his counter, Link leaped into the air and returned the ball at lightning speed.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!"**

Not even a chance to return the ball.

The Phantom's sword clattered to the floor once more.

This time, Link paid close attention to the sword that lay on the floor. Thinking back a little, Link remembered what was on the tablet.

" _The sword hilts of my servants who lurk deep in the darkness shall be the guideposts that point to me."_

…

" _The sword hilts of my servants who lurk deep in the darkness shall be the guideposts that point to me."_

…

Looking at the sword once more, Link noticed something:

The sword's hilt was pointing very perfectly towards a specific door.

"Oh, the sword! I get it now!" groaned Link. "How did I forget about that?"

Lining up the hilt with the door, Link advanced forwards. Glancing back to check if he was really at the right door, he finally pushed the door up and ran inside.

* * *

…

…

…

No deep voice.

No phantom.

Just a fancy-looking treasure chest in the middle of the room.

"Yes!" hissed Link. He was getting somewhere at last! He approached the chest and lifted it open.

Inside was... not only a velvet coat lining the inside of the chest but also a strange looking arrow. It was made entirely of gold. It was also just one object, rather than the traditional arrow which had the arrowhead fastened on. The feathers that lined the back were golden, as if they had come from Ganondorf's killer bird. Just like the Fire and Ice Arrows had done, these new arrows transformed into a golden energy and vanished into Link.

"Link..."

Link jumped upon hearing his name. This phantom had him paranoid, which was possibly what he was trying to get going.

"Link..."

The boy's eyes darted around the room. Was this another spirit?

"Do not fear. It is me, the Queen of Fairies." said the voice.

" _Oh, hey! It's you!"_ thought Link, switching to his mind once more.

"What you have just found… are the Light Arrows. They will cut through evil itself. Almost anyone with a dark heart will be completely obliterated." droned the Queen.

" _That's great, I could use that about now! How do I activate them?"_

"Recite the Hylian words 'Lux coelestis'. If you find yourself under attack by a powerful monster, use these arrows to destroy them in one hit."

" _Thank you, Queen F-"_

" **You'll never find my weakness!** "

A booming voice entered the conversation, almost making Link fall back into the chest. Phantom Ganon had returned, now glowing red with anger.

" **THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!** " roared the Phantom as he, once again, began forming a white hot ball of rolled his eyes in exasperation. He was done playing games. He raised his bow into the air.

"Lux Coelestis!"

Link's arrow began shining from top to bottom in a triumphant, butter-golden light. In fact, the whole bow started glowing with it.

" **W-Wait, not those!** " faltered Phantom Ganon as his attack started shrinking in fear. Link released the bowstring and a Light Arrow shot through the air. As if he were a pincushion, the Light Arrow shot through Phantom Ganon and dissipated on the wall behind.

" **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!** "

As the phantom screamed and writhed, he started slowly getting engulfed by a golden light that oozed out of the hole the arrow had made. His roar abruptly cut off as he vanished in a hiss of yellow.

 **CLANG!**

The monster's sword clattered to the floor once more, this time pointing towards a large wall of bricks, which looked like it was covering a way through.

Link stared at the weapon. It looked pretty powerful. There was no way he could lug it all the way to Ganondorf, but he had an idea for it.

The boy lifted the weapon, easily twice the size of him and the hilt was as thick as his arm, but he just about managed it… or dragged it. He staggered over to the brick wall and, with a scream of effort, swung the giant sword at it. The blade vanished as it easily slashed the wall in half. With a scream and a groan, the bricks clattered to the floor, revealing a giant, spiralling staircase. A giant, red carpet unravelled up the stairs. A wrought iron fence followed up alongside it.

Link felt a little pang of dread in his heart. He was going to have to fight Ganondorf in probably the next few minutes or maybe even hours. He did not know how far he was going to have to trek up. He needed all the energy he could get, and a massive hike wouldn't do any favours.

But he had to do it. Link started to walk up the stairs. "Just you wait, Zelda. I'm coming."

* * *

Finally, Link arrived at the top of the staircase. It may have been instantaneous for you but for Link, it took forever. It took so long that I was able to make the tea and take the dog for a walk and by the time I came back, Link was still going!

The boy slumped against the wall to catch his breath. Ahead of him sat a giant door. It was made of red wood which was lined with gold. The bars twirled into curlicues into the middle, creating a similar pattern to that of the Wind Waker.

Ganondorf was most likely just beyond that door.

With him would be Zelda.

 **CREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKK…**

The door creaked open by Link's push and he stepped inside.

* * *

Link was met with… eerie silence. Link wasn't even sure what level of the tower he was on. He had just gone up a staircase for who knows how long, but this room was very tall just like all the others. At the very top of the room, Link could just about see a load of support beams. They stretched across, entangling with each other like the web of a spider. The strangest and most noticeable detail was a gigantic four-poster bed in the middle of the room surrounded by shallow, reflective water.

Link waded through the water, which didn't even go over his boots. Now that he was close to the bed, he could clearly see who was asleep through the silky curtain.

Princess Zelda.

She was all in one piece but she was fast asleep, not even snoring. Her face was calm and peaceful. How could she have nodded off at a time like this?

" **Do you sleep still?** "

A bulky figure kneeling at the bedside spoke out, his voice refined. He leaned closer to Zelda, staring with a harmless look at her closed eyelids.

Ganondorf was distracted.

Now was the perfect time to strike.

 **Shick!**

"Suppress your haste, boy."

Link's insides froze over as he silently slipped the Master Sword back into its sheathe. He almost forgot to breathe for a dozen horrid seconds. His brain shut down by shock, Link watched as Ganondorf slowly reached his hand out towards the sleeping princess.

"Please don't hurt her." Link blurted out before slapping his hand over his mouth.

Ganondorf simply turned his head towards the boy, his orange eyes standing out through the curtain. "Oh, I do not intend to hurt her... I wouldn't dream of it." he said softly. He didn't sound sarcastic. His tone was incredibly sincere. He pressed his fingers gently against Zelda's forehead. A light ring echoed through the chamber.

Link stood powerlessly. He wanted to quickly attack, but what if Ganondorf anticipated this and…

No.

"I can see this girl's dreams..." growled Ganondorf observantly.

Link tried to step forwards, but he just felt… dizzy and lightheaded. It was if he had stood up too quickly.

"Oceans… Oceans..." droned the man. "Oceans… Oceans..." His tone got a little impatient. "Oceans… Oceans… Oceans as wide as the eye can see..."

Zelda grunted in her sleep. She sounded absolutely petrified as if she had just been jumpscared by a monster in her dream. Link took an instinctive step forwards but Ganondorf fixed him with his eyes. The boy stopped as if he had hit a wall. His face was turning white and, despite being mostly stationary, he began to become breathless.

"They are very wide. They carry no fish to catch. They hold no way of crossing them."

The man removed his hand from Zelda's head and she seemed to relax. Link did too. His heart rate slowed right down.

"Now, then… What did your King say?" mumbled Ganondorf. This did not sound like a rhetorical question, nor did it even sound like it was directed at Link. It was as if he was trying to recall or ask Link what the King of Red Lions had said. "The gods sealed Hyrule away?"

Suddenly, the malevolent man stood up and face Link. It was so abrupt that it made the boy jump a bit.

"And they left behind people who would one day awaken Hyrule?!" Ganondorf's voice began to rise on the last two words, as if he was incredulous. His face looked furious. Link was worried that he might jump at him at any moment.

"How ridiculous!" The man scoffed in revulsion as the giant, pink curtain was hoisted into the air by a bullying gust. "So many pathetic little creatures, scattered across a handful of islands, drifting on this sea like mouldy leaves on a forgotten pond… What can they possibly hope to achieve?"

Link crept his hand onto the handle of the Master Sword and drew it, the metal scraping against the sheathe. Ganondorf hardly reacted.

"Don't you see? All of you..." he seethed. His fist began to tremble with rage. " **YOUR GODS DESTROYED YOU!** "

His sudden change in his speech and actions were scarier than anything Link had done on his journey. He delivered it with so much ferocity that Link stepped back, almost shocked to fainting.

"What does that even mean?" puffed Link, his voice breaking.

"I have been waiting for you, boy..." said Ganondorf calmly, completely ignoring Link's question. "I have waited for one like you… Yes… For the hero."

…

…

…

"Do not betray my expectations."

Suddenly, the curtain fell back down, completely obscuring Link's sight of the man. All he could see was the man's silhouette and his now blank eyes. The bed had also completely vanished.

 **Crrrrrack…**

With a sickening crunch, the man's arms grew outwards and slumped on the floor.

 **Snap!**

With a horrible noise, his shoulders jolted out until they were quadruple their original size.

" **HuuuuuuuuuuuuuuAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!** "

With a blood-curdling scream, Ganondorf started rising and rising and rising like a giant tree until he was almost the height of the curtain, which he abruptly tore into shreds.

He was no longer Ganondorf.

He was now…

A **PUPPET?**

Yes. A giant, porcine marionette stood in the man's place. His eyes rolled like ping-pong balls in a goldfish bowl. His arm segments clattered together like the beads in an abacus. Giant strings that connected to the support beams above twanged taut like guitar strings.

" **Face the wrath of Puppet Ganon!** "

* * *

The puppet raised a blocky arm into the air to smash Link into the ground with. The boy immediately darted to the left to dodge as the monstrous marionette's fist hammered into the water. Even though it was shallow, it created a massive geyser that soaked Link with water.

" **Where are your gods now?** " jeered the monster.

Suddenly, flashbacks of Kalle Demos whizzed through Link's mind.

A puppet is harmless with no supports!

Link grabbed hold of his boomerang and lined up a shot before he hurled the curved stick through the air. It soared like an eagle, twisting and turning in the air and slicing through the strings and making loud, musical noises.

 **Twing! Twang! Twong! Twung!**

Several of the monster's limbs hung down limp. The boomerang whizzed through the air and finally sliced through a string holding its tail up, which smashed to the floor.

On the end of its tail was a blue orb.

Remembering what the Queen Fairy said about the Light Arrows, Link drew his bow, nocked a Light Arrow and fired.

" **AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!** " roared the monster, leaping into the air as electricity shot through its entire body. " **What have you done to me?!** "

The entire puppet went limp and was pulled to the ceiling by one thick, red string that the boomerang couldn't cut. When it finally reached the ceiling, all its limbs disappeared into its body, held up by the red string.

" **And now for my next trick!** " cackled Puppet Ganon. With a giant, dark explosion, its plastic body shattered, revealing underneath…

…a different puppet. Its design was based off a giant spider but it still had the giant Moblin head that the last one had. No matter how brave you are, you wouldn't want to find that in your toilet.

" **I shall squash you like the bug you are!** "

The spider was hoisted into the air by the red thread attached to its abdomen. Link stared down into the reflection in the water. Puppet Ganon had begun spinning like a top and, judging by his last quote, it was palpable what he intended to do. Link looked up and down as the spider began plummeting to the ground, screaming furiously. This wasn't how spiders and humans interacted! It was always the other way around!

The boy ran out of the way of the falling body of the spider as it smashed into the floor, spraying water everywhere and shaking the whole room, the latter effect sending Link crashing to the floor. Quickly picking himself up, his eyes shifted about as they looked for the blue orb.

There it was, on the puppet's back. It was all cracked from the last arrow, so Link knew he was getting somewhere. He drew his bow once more, nocked a light arrow and shot the orb once more.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

The monster's whole body convulsed with electricity. Puppet Ganon's limbs flailed wildly like a bug that had been pinned to a dartboard. Finally, it exploded into purple smoke.

" **Behold, my final form!** "

Suddenly, Link saw the Moblin face of the puppet charge towards him from the smoke. He didn't even have the time to escape. Now taking the form of a snake, Puppet Ganon gave Link no time to react and his charge struck him like a steam train, rolling him painfully through the air and into the water.

" **HAAA HA HA HA HA!** "

Link slowly got up and drew his bow, blood dripping from his nose slightly and staining the water beneath. The snake was speeding around the room and bouncing like a pinball. Hitting it at this point was just a shot in the dark.

The snake whizzed towards him and turned, the impact of the water wave throwing his aim off. The Light Arrow shot into the air like a distress firework before it slowed, turned and flew back down. Puppet Ganon continued cackling as he bounced from one end of the room to the other. Finally, he set his eyes on Link and he angled one ricochet towards him. Too exhausted to move out of the way, Link braced for the second impact.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!** "

But to his surprise, he was not the one screaming. The Light Arrow from earlier had come back down, striking the blue orb on Puppet Ganon's tail. The snake thrashed and jumped on the doorstep of death before his shell finally exploded, launching shrapnel everywhere.

* * *

Link paused for a moment to catch his breath when something splashing into the water caught his attention.

A wooden cross, tangled in broken, blue strings.

The boy stared upwards at the support beams. Perched atop the lowest one, Ganondorf stood with his arm extended and his fingers stretched, clearly having been the marionettist. He was not Puppet Ganon at all. Link had been tricked.

Ganondorf had Zelda, still covered in bedspread, tucked under his arm. She was safe, yet in deep danger at the same time. Slowly, Ganondorf began clapping his hands together.

Very slowly.

 **Clap… Clap… Clap… Clap… Clap… Clap…**

"Well done, well done! Yes… Surely you are the Hero of Time reborn." smirked the man.

Thanks to his quiet voice and the far distance from him, Link could hardly hear a word he was saying. "WHAAAT?" he called up to Ganondorf.

"Your time has come. Come now! Stand before me!" said Ganondorf, not even raising his voice to be heard.

Link frowned in confusion. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! SPEAK UP!"

All Ganondorf did was a loud, evil laugh as he began to rise upwards through the rafters, higher and higher until he was gone.

He and the princess had escaped once again, leaving Link to stare up in silence.

Link eyed the red rope that once held up the malevolent marionette that was Puppet Ganon.

That thread led up to the very top of the tower.

"Hmmm..." he hummed. "I wonder..."


	34. The Wizard's Last Laugh

Link grasped the red thread that once supported Puppet Ganon and began hauling himself up towards the rafters.

He climbed up

and up

and up

and up

and up

and up…

It had taken him seven minutes to even get close to the top. The boy didn't dare looked down as he climbed up higher and higher and higher until he finally was level with the top of the web of rafters. His arms now on fire, he heaved himself onto the board.

"Phew!" he puffed as he looked down at the room below him. No wonder he couldn't hear Ganondorf! He was REALLY high up! He could barely even see his own reflection in the waters below.

There was no time to enjoy the view, though. He had to find the man.

Looking around the place for an escape hatch or something, Link noticed that there was a large, wooden balcony with a shade over the top that seemed to lead into a portal. Since he was near the top of the tower, he took a guess that this lead up to the tower's roof.

Slipping the Hookshot on, Link aimed at the shade that was above the balcony and fired. With a clanking of chains, he landed on the balcony.

He looked at the swirling vortex in front of him. Who knew where it went? The top of the tower? Back to Hyrule? Off the edge of the tower?

Link knew that he could very well be advancing to his death. Anything could happen. Just because the Master Sword was at full power, that didn't automatically mean that he'd win. He had beaten Puppet Ganon by a stroke of luck…

Oh, wait. He didn't have to use the Master Sword for that one, so…

"Well, I have to try! I'm not going to go down without helping the princess!"

Sucking in air to steel his nerves, Link stepped into the portal.

 **WHOOOOSH!**

* * *

When Link emerged, he was standing all the way at the top of the tower. The floor was made of a dark stone. Some lighter stones swirled around into patterns of curling wind, with one particularly big swirl in the center.

The wind was especially fierce up here. It whistled past Link's ears and caused his hair to flail all over the place in panic.

This panic was well warranted.

Ganondorf was standing on the edge of the tower, facing the mountains and meadows of Hyrule. Now free of her bedspread and in her normal dress, Zelda was sprawled on the floor in front of him.

"My country lay within a vast desert," the dark one spoke quietly to himself. The boy tilted his head in confusion. "When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world." Ganondorf paused, waiting for Link to take it in. "And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes."

"...Where was your home? What are you trying to accomplish?"

"No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing... Death."

The child felt his blood run cold.

"But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin," the man sighed and gazed longingly in the distance as if remembering everything from so many years of slumber. He let a small grin climb into his lips as he remembered the changes in Hyrule. The way the people would be so merry and happy. "I ...coveted that wind, I suppose."

Link took a look at the turned Ganondorf and then turned his attention to the downed Zelda. If he was quick, he could wake her and... maybe he could escape.

"It can only be called fate... that here, I would again gather the three with the crests." Link's confusion slowly started to piece together what he was saying. "...That I should lay my hand on that which grants wishes to the beholder..." Link quickly stole a glance at the Triforce of Courage. Wishes? The Triforce was a wish maker? Despite having the one representing courage... a twinge of nervousness invaded him. "...That when Power, Wisdom and Courage come together, the gods would have no choice but to come down." Ganondorf reassured himself.

"The power of the Gods... the Triforce!" He bellowed. "He who touches it would have whatever he desires granted!"

He looked down at the unconscious Zelda, her hand glowing with naught but a single flicker of light as if it were low on energy. "Already, the crest of wisdom is mine..." The wizard lifted his fist triumphantly, revealing a much more fierce blare from the back. "...I already have the crest of Power... All that remains..."

Ganondorf's eyes shifted to gaze at the boy. The warrior's blood ran to below zero once again, and the sword in his hand wavered as the crest upon its owner glowed. Ganondorf slowly turned to face him...

...

...

...

Link was wary. He didn't break eye contact with his predator. All was ear-piercingly silent, with only the distant sounds of wind bouncing from the pristine, sparkling mountains and glimmering water flowing through expertly, naturally furrowed beds in the ground.

Ganondorf leaned forwards, his smile becoming malevolent and foreboding...

...and he suddenly became a blur as he darted towards him. Link held up his shield to defend, but it was useless.

A loud cry of effort and a loud biff echoed in the peaceful panorama as pain erupted in the boy's face. The boy could barely get a noise out before another blow to the jaw was delivered, and the force made his hand release the Master Sword. The blade somersaulted through the air, plunging into the floor at Zelda's head, just barely missing her.

Link weakly gazed up at the wizard who's fist was dotted with drips of his blood. Ganondorf savagely grinned as a final punch sent the boy rolling into the bricks. They darkened to crimson as his nose began leaking like a tap that had been just barely activated. The boy's entire face felt numb and his vision was flashing reds and blues.

...

...

...

Ganondorf smirked evilly as he waded to the boy like a reaper of the dead and, though his vision was clouded, he felt fear crawl up his skin. There was no courage here, despite what the back of his hand said. There was fear and it was as subtle as a golf club to the head.

"Do not fear, little one. I will not kill you..." Ganondorf gently whispered, "I merely have need for the power that dwells within you." Link saw the man bend down as if he was about to tie his shoe, but his ogrish hand clamped onto his wrist and hoisted him above the warlock's head, with the boy's wrist aiming to the Great Sea. His body physically couldn't budge and his arm felt like it could snap off at any moment. He fought to stop blacking out. He felt light-headed and his eyes looked at Ganondorf's aged face. The wrinkles of sleepless nights in his eyes, emblazoned with regret and longing... If he went on like this, he would look like a Redead in about a week.

Link suddenly felt the slightest hint of pity in the lowest part of his heart for him.

Link tried to respond but he stopped when he felt intense pain in his vocal chords. Gravity was making him feel like his arm was going to snap off. His eyes were watering to the point of stinging. Flashing lights were dancing in his eyes.

"Now! Let us put an end to that which binds us together!" bellowed Ganondorf. Link's ears started ringing loudly from the racket.

Wait, that wasn't his ears! It was the Triforce of Courage! It was slowly emerging from the boy's hand, making a magical ringing noise. It spun into the air. Out of the corner of his good eye, Link saw Zelda's Triforce emerging and rising into the air. Link couldn't see it, but Ganondorf's Triforce of Power rose into the air with them. They all joined together up in the air and formed the full Triforce. There it was. In all it's glory. A great, golden Sierpinski triangle that radiated triumph, good fortune and honour. Slowly, it started to descend to the ground. Ganondorf marched towards it like the Queen's army commander, ready to make his wish.

The wizard intimidatingly laughed as he dropped Link to the floor with a pathetic bump and approached the golden antique. "Finally! After years of training my body and meditating on myself, my plans have come to fruition! I can finally make a wish on the Triforce without it scattering!" he cackled malevolently.

" **Gods! Hear that which I desire!** " he shouted as he stopped just before the Triforce. He raised his hand into the air. " **Expose this land to the rays of the sun once more! Let them burn forth!** **GIVE… HYRULE… TO… ME!** "

The evil warlock began to lower his hand to touch the Triforce and grant his wish but, much to his surprise, another hand had already been placed on it.

"'He who touches it will have whatever he desires granted!' That's what you said, is it not, Ganondorf?"

Link tried to jolt up when he heard this voice. When he could finally see clearly, he noticed a large man. A rather squared face, a thick, white beard, a royal, red robe, a giant, white collar, a golden crown... and a big heart.

 **King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.**

"Sire?" wheezed Link hoarsely. It hurt horribly when he spoke.

Ganondorf stood still in shock, his arm still half extended towards the Triforce.

" **Gods of the Triforce!** " boomed the King as he looked up towards the heavens. His voice remained powerful as he beseeched the Gods above. " **Hear that which I desire! HOPE! I desire hope for these children! Give them a future! WASH AWAY THIS ANCIENT LAND OF HYRULE! LET A RAY OF HOPE SHINE ON THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD!** "

…

…

…

All was silent. Deafeningly silent. Ganondorf was still frozen in shock. His cape was all that moved. The King was assertively still. His robe was all that moved.

Finally, the Triforce started ringing again. It split back into three pieces. All three of them rose up into the air, forming a giant triangle that surrounded the tower.

"Let our destinies be fulfilled." said the King. " **Ganondorf! May you drown with Hyrule!** "

Suddenly, water began to stab through the barrier like swords. Within seconds, mostly all of the barrier had disappeared. The only part of it that remained was a single triangle shape surrounding the tower, stopping everyone there from instantly drowning. Water began to plop down onto the floor like rain, however.

Link's bleeding seemed to immediately stop. His bruises went down like balloons. All of his pain deflated and ceased to exist. What was in this water?

Uneasily, he got to his feet and waved his head about due to his dizziness. Tiny little parts of the remains of the barrier broke off, leaving little waterfalls splashing onto the surface of the tower.

Ganondorf was still motionless, his hand still reached out to where the Triforce was. The King was still motionless. Link wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but he thought he could see… the sides of Ganondorf's mouth curling up into a smirk. His lips trembled. His fingers clawed up. His face began quivering.

" **Muh heh heh heh heh heh heh...** "

The torrential water that poured from every angle got fiercer.

" **Mmmmh hmm huh huh huh huh huh huh!** "

Ganondorf showed his teeth and started convulsing with laughter.

" **Hah ha ha ha!** "

Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed. He had become a mindless beast. He had essentially become Ganon. Not physically, but his mental state was indistinguishable.

" **Hurgh hur hur! HURGH HA HA! HURGH HUR HA HA! AAAAAAAAAH HA HA HA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH HA HA HA! AAAAAAAH HA HA HA HA HA! MUUUUUH HA HA HA HA HA HA!** "

Link should have felt good about this... Ganondorf had finally been defeated. He was still alive, but with the kingdom being buried around him, he wouldn't last very long.

Neither would he, however. And he felt like he was not ready to witness a man's instant drop into insanity. His hopes, dreams and ambitions had been stomped into dust and been scattered on the wind...

"What's so funny? What are you laughing at, Ganondorf? You're insane!"

Link heard Zelda's voice for the first time in what felt like ages by his side. His eyes darted towards her. There she was, wide awake, holding the Master Sword out for him. The boy wanted to smile, but he couldn't get over what had just come over Ganondorf.

The laugh of a broken man... the one that made you suck in so many gulps of air that you'd choke on them. He was convinced that, any minute now, he would turn and brutally murder the pair of them.

"Sorry, Link! I overslept!" Zelda said, giving a very uncanny 'Tetra wink'. It was clear that Tetra had not entirely left her behind. The princess handed Link the Master Sword.

"This is foolishness!" roared Ganon. "A future? For you?"

Link turned to the Princess. "I think it's time we skedaddled. Ganon here has lost the plot!" he whispered. The two turned around to find the exit, but…

Link had come through a portal. There was no way off the tower.

"Very well!" rumbled Ganon behind them. "Allow me to show you… your future."

With a bone-chilling noise, two giant scimitars were drawn from Ganon's sleeves.

"Yes… Allow me to show you… just what little hope you have!" he snickered. With a scream of rage, he turned around, a massive, slasher smile plastered across his face.

" **SEE HOW MUCH YOUR PRECIOUS TRIFORCE IS WORTH!"**

* * *

With an insane scream, Ganon charged at the two children. Immediately, Link took Zelda by the hand and ran into one of the surrounding waterfalls. With water pouring over them, they bathed in the cover.

"Where did the King go? He was just here a minute ago!" spluttered Link.

"Wait, the King? He was here?" cried Zelda.

"Yes! He just wished for Hyrule to be flooded and for us to be safe!"

"We've got a crazy swordsman after us! How are we safe?"

"Don't blame him. It's not his fault. It's just that… We need to beat this guy."

" **Where are you? Come out so I can strike you down!** "

Link quickly ran out of the waterfall with Zelda as a giant sword came slicing through it. Ganon was trying to find them. They took refuge behind a different one.

"So, what do you have in mind?" panted Zelda as Ganon continued slashing through the previous waterfall.

"Right… So, I have a bow that can shoot arrows of light. You use the bow and I'll go and distract him. Shoot him when his back is turned!"

Zelda seemed absolutely terrified for the boy's life. "But… what if something happens to you?"

"Don't worry about me. Just stay hidden and worry about yourself."

Link pushed his bow into Zelda's hands.

"All right. I think I understand." Zelda shivered as she spoke, either because of the cold water or out of fear.

"Good!" Link gave a supportive smile and sprinted out of the waterfall. Immediately, Zelda heard Ganon roaring in rage.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!** "

 **VUM! VUM! CLINK! VUM! CLINK, CLINK!**

Zelda peeked her head out of the waterfall before stepping out out it entirely. Link was clashing with Ganon furiously. The trail of the Master Sword lingered in the air as he swung it. Ganon blocked his assaults nimbly with his swords before he leaped into the air and landed behind him. Ganon was physically stronger and his swords were much larger but Link had the fully powered Master Sword, which seemed to match Ganon's sheer power. Even after turning insane, Ganon was still an amazing fighter. He was powerful, but Link was a small target, light on his feet and very fast.

" **The only future for you is at the end of my swords!** " roared the man. The two continued clashing wildly. Ganon's attacks got faster and faster. As far as Zelda could tell, Link was struggling to keep up. Water shining on his head and hair, Link ran around to Ganondorf's other side to force him to turn.

It was obvious what he was after.

As soon as the man's back was turned, Zelda nocked a light arrow and fired blindly through the waterfall.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!** "

Ganon's whole body writhed with electricity, but it didn't instantly kill him like they thought it would. Instead, he leaned to the floor. With a scream, Link pounced into the air, slashing the warlock across the face, drawing blood. He went for yet another attack, striking Ganon across the chest, tearing his robe and spilling more blood.

" **YOU!** " he roared. Dropping one of his swords to the floor, he leaped over to Zelda and, before Link could give chase, he stood over her.

"Zelda, move! Run away!" cried Link. Zelda continued aiming her bow at Ganon's heart. Using his empty hand, Ganon punched Zelda across the roof of the tower where, out cold, she skidded to a stop just a meter from the edge.

Link didn't move. His teeth clattered together with a mix of adrenaline and full, unfiltered rage. His hand tightened forcefully around the hilt of the Master Sword and it seemed to burn blue with his energy. Ganon turned back to Link, a giant, smug grin across his face.

" **Your life is meaningless! YOU ARE WORTHLESS!** " he roared as he lunged forwards to attack. Link was now ten times more livid than Ganon. With a roar of fury, he dashed and slashed at about eight hits per second, no restraint.

 **CLACLACLACLACLACLACLANG!** **VVUM! WOWOWOVOVOWOVOM! TSSSSSSCHAOW!**

Still very confident, Ganon blocked with his one sword as sparks flew from the blades, fizzling out in the water. Link twisted and turned, spinning and jumping like an acrobat. His speed was good against Ganon's slower style, and the war-happy warlock was kept at heavy attention, but Link landed, agile as ever, and engaged in an enraged blade lock.

 **SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!**

The Master Sword stayed firm against Ganon's two swords but, in this kind of struggle, having two swords was definitely better than one. Using one of them to keep Link busy, Ganon quickly struck Link in the arm with the other. When he gasped and lost balance, he struck again, getting him in the leg.

 **SCHLING!**

Adrenaline stopped Link feeling too much of it after a moment of sharp pains. They still effected him since he couldn't move fast any more without causing damage to his body, but he couldn't even feel his arm and leg wounds.

" **Hyrule is already dead! You shall drown with it!** " roared Ganon as he charged with both of his swords. With an almighty roar, he reached Link and engaged in another duel, his attacks more ferocious. Link was quickly overwhelmed by the deranged man. He blocked some attacks but he was nicked a few times. Of course, when your opponent is Ganon, a few glancing hits feels like several dozens of straight on attacks.

With bright red cuts all over him from every angle, Link began to wobble and fall back…

"No! You can't win! You won't! I refuse!"

Link made a quick step upwards and charged at Ganon furiously, dropping the Mirror Shield in exchange for more power. Instead of retaliating, the man turned his swords and placed the handles against each other. As he did, they slid into place and the blades began burning with dark energy, opposite of the Master Sword. It was like a long, sharp staff.

Screaming, Link finally reached the mad wizard and they began struggling again. Both weapons buzzed like bees as they swung through the air, their swords leaving trails of light and dark as they went.

 **VUM! VUM! VERURURUM! CHAONG! SHOWR! BUZZ! VUM!** **BZZZT!**

After several furious attacks against each other's blades, the two finally stepped back to prepare once more. Not even a second later, Ganon spun his blade in circles and advanced towards his opponent. Link parried his attacks, leaped over a low, sweeping kick and managed to catch the wizard off guard a bit, kicking his shin and knocking him to his knee. Finally, Link noticed that Ganon's weapons were joined at the center. With a decisive strike, Link swung his blade upwards.

 **VUM! BOOOOM!**

With a shower of smoke and sparks, Ganon's weapons split apart. The man howled in surprise, looking as if this had happened to him before and dropped one of the blades to the floor. Seizing his moment, Link began slashing at the malevolent man wherever he could find robe and skin. Finally, Ganon fell back to the floor, now a mess of blood and torn robes.

He wasn't done yet, though. He rolled backwards, got back to his feet with a kip-up and began to run across the tower, Link's chasing swipe just cutting off a straggling end of his cloak.

The boy chased Ganon across the tower, still not saying a word. Ganon, too, was silent. The warlock turned around and continued fighting with just one sword.

 **VUM! VUM! VUM! VUM!**

The man attacked nimbly as Link blocked with his blade. Quickly and unexpectedly, he did a roundhouse, striking Link in the chest. Grunting, the boy backflipped to absorb the impact. This worked wonders and he landed straight on his feet, able to quickly get back into action. Instead of countering Link's blows, Ganon nimbly flipped out of the way and stood still, extending his arm out as if to say 'Bring it.' Link obliged and continued.

 **VUM! VUM! VVUM! VUVUVUVUVUM! VVVVVVVUM!**

Link ducked a swing, jumped a sweep, raised his blade and bought it down, just as he had struggled with Phantom Ganon back at the Forsaken Fortress. The two weapons hissed against each other like cold water on a hot pan before Ganon dodged out of the way and struck Link dead on. With a new wound that appeared to glow with darkness, the boy skidded back to the edge of the tower and rolled off the side, dropping the Master Sword in the process. It sat alone on the edge of the tower as Link fell for a few feet before wrapping his arms around a gargoyle that hung on the side. Water crashed down behind him. Falling from this height into such rough water would be death, no questions asked. He would hopefully be crushed by the water before drowning in it.

Link heard scraping metal screaming above him as Ganon kicked the Master Sword off the edge. Almost losing his grip, Link grabbed hold of the weapon as it plunged towards him, just about wrapping his fingers around the handle.

"Hah. A fitting end for the Hero of Winds. Gravity!" sneered Ganon as he peered over the ledge at Link. The man began running his sword along the end of the tower, the dark blade screeching wildly. Link just hung on for dear life as water crashed around him.

Ganon reached his free hand downwards and formed a twisted smile.

"Notata Metu!" roared the wizard. A red spell shot out from his fingertips and disappeared into Link.

At first, he felt nothing but all of a sudden he was hit by an indescribable pain. The pain was so furious and overpowering that Link no longer knew who he was. A very solid pain, not even a sharp pain, beating against every inch of his body. His head felt like it was about to explode. Almost instantly, he let go of the ledge and plunged down the tower.

"I bid you… farewell, boy." chuckled Ganon, coldly turning as Link smashed into the pouring waters and out of sight.

" _So this is how it ends..."_ Link thought with great difficulty as water battered him from all sides. He wasn't scared. He wasn't even surprised. He knew that he was incapable of slaying Ganon. The only thing that mattered was that the monstrous man was already doomed. Water was pouring all around him with no way off the tower. He was praying for Zelda's safety, he was praying the sages would be all right... he was praying his granny and sister would not let his death destroy their emotions... Falling wasn't even that scary. The wind gusting past, water surrounding him, him slowly halting…

Wait.

Link forced his eyes open. He was no longer falling, but hovering in midair. Wind was surrounding him in a ball. When it dissipated, he was laying still atop the tower.

The wind had swooped in and rescued him from certain death once again.

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!** "

Link leaped to his feet, picked up the Mirror Shield and charged at Ganon with a cracking war cry. A war cry that would have sent Gohma, Kalle Demos, Gohdan, Jalhalla, Molgera and Phantom Ganon all running for the hills. Ganon, who was slowly walking towards the downed Zelda, jumped and whirled around.

"W-w-WHAT? How did you-?" he screamed as Link lowered his sword against the ground and dragged it along to try and create sparks. Failing to do so because of the wet ground, he leaped into the air and slashed Ganon across the torso. He howled in pain for a good few seconds before he engaged in a sword duel once more. This time, Ganon only had one sword.

 **VUM! VUM! VUM! VUVUVUVUM! CHING! CHING! CHING! CHICHICHICHING!**

Link's attacks were ruthless. He was almost blinded with rage and passion for fighting.

 **VUM! VUMVUMVUM! VUM! VUMVUMVUM!**

The two traded hits with each other several times, but they recovered in mere moments out of fear for their lives. Wounds were spreading more and more across their bodies, but they weren't even noticing them. The only time they would had to be when one won altogether and the adrenaline wore off.

Finally, Link drove Ganon away with the Master Sword. He glided through the air like a swan and landed on the other side of the battlefield to try and regain some strength.

Link held his sword up at Ganon to ward him off. He was wary. He knew what Ganon was like. This was all just a trick. Any second now, he would-

"Zelda?" muttered Link as he saw her move out of the corner of his eye. His eyes weren't deceiving him. Zelda pulled herself up and brushed some rubble off of her clothes. "Zelda! You're all right!" cried Link as his eyes darted between her and Ganon, making sure he wasn't going to-

" **CHAAAAAAARGE!** "

The children looked at the madman as he rocketed at them with his sword outstretched.

"Link! I have an idea!" shouted Zelda, nocking a Light Arrow. "I'll aim for you and you use your shield? Do you get it?"

 **CLANG!**

Ganon had reached the pair just at the wrong moment, just when Link was about to voice approval. Luckily, the boy's reflexes made him pull his Mirror Shield just before Ganon reached him.

 **Clink! Clang! Clang! Clink! Clang!**

Ganon's swings were so enraged and filled with venomous fury and his weapons were still glowing with his own poisonous hate. The mirror on the shield could barely take the hits, and each hit left a deep gash in the surface. Link attempted to back off, fearing that Ganon would overpower him and chop him to cauterised pieces. Ganondorf did not take kindly to escaping. Every step the boy took back, the warlock took a bigger one forwards, his furious assaults now scarring the floor around him.

Zelda kept as calm as she could keep herself, pulling the bowstring taut. She lined up a shot. First, the arrow pointed at Ganon's back, but she shook her head and aimed it through his legs at Link, who had now been knocked to the floor and was helplessly shielding for his life as Ganon raised both his swords above his head, ready to strike him down.

 **Twang!**

Zelda's Light Arrow shot out of the bow, weaved through Ganon's legs while his swords dropped and it disappeared into Link's Mirror Shield with a flash. For a moment, the shield seemed to burn with its own light and it shot the light arrow towards Ganon at point blank range. The arrow pierced straight through him, zooming into the falling waters around the sides of the tower. The man roared in excrutiating agony and crumpled to his knees, buzzing with divine electricity as one sword flew from his flailing hand and fell from the edge of the flooding tower.

The Light Arrow's energy had made an even bigger mess of his brain. The charred body of the man rose slightly, his face jittering and twitching, his mouth a jagged, bloodthirsty grin. He raised his one remaining sword into the air, its energy flickering as it shut down with him.

" **A-All I wanted was the wind! The air that blew through** **Hyrule!** " He spoke like he had just emerged from sub-zero water. " **I fought against the** **selfishness of all your ancestors and against the hardships of the Gerudo! Y-You wanna piece of me?! Come and get me! Kill me! C-come on!** "

In one last ditch effort to kill the boy before him, Ganon swung his dying sword across him, his weakened self accidentally letting it go and losing it to the torrents that surrounded him. As it swept to Link, he was driven by an instinct that motored him up with a lifting tailwind over the whirling blade. As the wind lifted him, propelling him towards Ganon, he spun, did a twirling 360 flip in the air with a chilling scream, held the Master Sword upside down towards Ganon's head, stabbing it down with all the strength he had left.

 **SCHLLCHT!**

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA** **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA** **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA** **ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

* * *

It sounded like a boot being stomped into a puddle of mud.

the Master Sword buried itself hilt-deep into Ganon's forehead. Link's eye twitched, he contorted furiously, he made huffing panting noises before finally, he jumped off of the man and landed on the floor weakly.

"Urgh… heh heh." Ganondorf could only groan out, realising that he had been beaten. He still had a haunting, deranged smile on his face as if it was frozen on. Blood began gurgling out of his mouth like water seeping over a dam. His mouth creaked open and closed as he tried to form words with the remains of his brain. "The wind… It is blowing." he chuckled, looking up at the falling water. He looked… relieved.

Now that Link knew he'd won, his fury subsided. Now back to normal, he stared in horror and revulsion at what he had done. A death wound like that would never be clean. Not even with water pouring all over the place to clean it up. Blood was **everywhere**. It had gone in a perfect several feet around where it had come from like freshly struck oil, save for Link's shape somewhere near the middle. He was not spared. Blood covered his tunic, face, hair, hat and trousers, both his own and Ganondorf's.

"Huh heh heh heh heh-"

The wizard's last laugh was cut off as his body slowly started to turn to stone from the head down, his colour draining to a dull grey just like what had happened to Hyrule Castle. Within seconds, he was a pathetic lump of rock, completely incomparable to the colourful majesty it once was.

* * *

It was only when Ganon was well and truly gone did Link's adrenaline rush wear off. His face was a painting of all negative emotions possible. Exhaustion, horror, illness, a tiny bit of sympathy, pain, sadness, a bit of remaining anger…

Link turned his left hand over to look at his palm. He had gripped the Master Sword so tightly that the pattern of the hilt had left an imprint on his hand. At the very bottom of his peripheral vision, he, he could see a small, darkening spot in his tunic. He pressed against it and immediately pulled his finger away, hissing in pain.

His finger was soaked in even more blood from a wound on his chest.

Looking down again, the dark spot was growing larger and larger.

"Oh..."

Feeling sick, Link began to fall over. He would have if Zelda hadn't come to his side.

"Link!" she panted as she caught him around the waist. She tried her hardest to keep him up, but she seemed completely drained by the fight as well. Soon, they were both leaning against each other. Link blankly stared at the floor, completely inattentive to Zelda's worn breath humming in his ears.

"My children… All is fine now." said a voice. The children tried their hardest to look up. Ahead of them stood King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. His expression was benevolent, yet he also looked… regretting.

"What happened to you? Ganondorf was going to kill us!" panted Zelda, her voice breaking.

"Please. Calm down." wheezed Link, trying to stand up himself. "It's not his fault."

The King extended his hand and shut his eyes. "No." he said. "Those feelings are warranted, Link. You are entitled to them as well"

Link's face suddenly fell. Why? Why was he insistent that he wasn't a hero? He just saved the whole of the boy's Kingdom at the expense of his own!

"Listen well..." began the King. "I have lived… regretting the past. And I have faced those regrets."

Link and Zelda's eyes softened a little. Suddenly, Zelda's hold made him grunt in pain so she adjusted her grip.

"If only I could do things over again..." continued the King, his voice breaking, "Not a day of my life has gone by without my thoughts sneaking to my kingdom of old. I have lived bound to Hyrule."

The King looked into the air at the falling ocean. "I was self-centered. I only cared about my own kingdom and its revival. I have endangered lives and forced people like Medli and Makar to throw theirs away. In that sense..."

The King paused as he looked over at the rock formation that used to be Ganondorf.

"...I was no different than Ganondorf."

A loud, spookily timed thunderclap blasted overhead as the King said this. Even Link and the Princess flinched a little.

"Link." said the man. Link stood to attention, or at least tried to.

"You were right to protest against all that I said. I put you in danger, I put your friend here in danger, I forced Medli and Makar to forsake their own lives for a Kingdom lost in time's hazy fog… I am so sorry." The King's voice broke even more.

The children looked in silence at the pitifully crying man. Neither of them had seen the King like this. Link felt like one of his parents had broke down crying in front of him. When half a minute of awkward silence passed, Link finally stepped forwards away from Zelda and painfully kneeled down.

"Sire," he began. "I understand."

Daphnes suddenly looked up and frowned, incredulous. "You what?"

"I forgive you."

Link wrapped his arms around the King's rotund waist. Slowly, trying not to hurt him, the King returned his embrace. "Thank you, my dear Link..."

Link returned back to Zelda. She instinctively held him up again.

"I want you two to live for the future." the King wished, "Forget this land of the past and move on to a new land. That is the only world your ancestors could leave for you. I hope you can forgive them."

Link looked at Zelda, silently begging for her to do something to help.

"As fate writes its final chapter, this land can finally be put to rest," said the King. "as well as the past that has chained me to this flooded kingdom."

Suddenly, the Princess's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Wait! I have an idea! I have a ship! A big ship! We will find a new Hyrule!" she gibbered quickly at her idea.

Link's pain subsided in excitement. Yes! That was a good idea! The King could come with them! They could all travel with each other! The other pirates would be thrilled to have another member of royalty on their boat with them! He could become a monarch of the new land!

Link eagerly looked at the King for a response. Unfortunately, he could tell what the man was going to say just by his sad, sighing smile.

"Ah, but child, that land will not be Hyrule..."

Zelda's face fell as he said this. Link had seen this coming just a few seconds ago... and he was worried about how much time they had left before they were all buried beneath the sea...

" **IT WILL BE YOUR LAND!** " bellowed the King. He looked like he was done talking and Zelda looked like she wanted to try and convince him to reconsider, but...

 **CRACK!**

...the last part of the barrier began to crack.

 **SPLASH!**

The mighty waters gave in on the rest of Hyrule.

Much to Link's surprise, he was not dead. He was not even wet. He was completely underwater but he seemed to be encased in some kind of bubble that was exactly his shape, clothes and all.

Zelda was also encased in a bubble that was of her shape. With increasing speed, they began to float upwards like bubbles in a fizzy drink, back to the surface.

Link could not hear her, but he could see Zelda was upside down and reaching back down towards the tower. Her mouth was open as if she were calling out and tears were streaming down her face.

He looked down and saw who Zelda could see.

King Daphnes stood still on the roof with no bubble around him, watching the children departing. He did not float up with them either and clothes darkened with the water.

His eyes narrowing in determination, Link fought against the current and began doing the breast stroke down to the King as Zelda drifted out of sight, her gloved hand still extended to her ancestor's father.

"Sire!" cried Link as he swam furiously towards the King. He hardly reacted to his presence, with only his head rising slightly to meet Link's.

Link reached out to the man, still swimming hard. Slowly, the King opened his eyes, which met with Link's.

Yes.

Slowly, gently, the man moved his hand up towards him.

Yes.

Link gave him an encouraging smile of amethyst. He just had to power on for a bit further... They were so close to touching...

Daphnes paused and closed his eyes. He drooped his head back down. His hand fell back to his side.

"No!" shouted Link as the current got stronger. Almost instantaneously, he found himself completely unable to match the speed of the current. Still furiously swimming, he started drifting away from Hyrule forever. " **Sire! Sire! SIRE! SIRE!** "

As he rose higher and higher towards the surface, the once beautiful kingdom of Hyrule disappeared into the misty sea. The snow on the mountains faded and vanished. The leaves on the trees started to lift upwards slightly. The rivers became unrecognisable and just looked like giant furrows. All that Link could see of his friend, his mentor, his father figure, his King, his King of Red Lions, was a tiny, red spot in the clouding ocean. Even that became fainter and fainter and fainter before it passed from sight for good.

" **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!** "

Link was still determined to swim back down and save him. He couldn't let him go. He ascended into pitch blackness as he passed what was originally coined as the deepest part of the ocean. It was at that point, when he was sure he'd never experience happiness again, when he thought he heard a deep voice booming out.

" **I... have scattered... the seeds of the future...** "

It may have been the King himself. It may have been his disembodied voice carried by the wind, it may have been Link's imagination but in his heart, the King was still with him.

* * *

"Link!"

No response.

"Link!"

Link felt a pair of rough hands shaking him awake. He was drifting belly up in the ocean, but who did these hands belong to? Definitely not Zelda. They were too rough.

"Link!"

The boy blinked the salt out of his eyes and forced them open. There, next to him in the water, was Tetra, back to her old self. Dark skin, tall, beehive hair, tough pirate clothes, all the bells and whistles he was used to.

"Where are we?" murmured Link as he began to wake up.

"In the middle of nowhere!" replied Tetra. "We need to get to an island before we drown!"

Link looked at the lapping waves around him. He then did a full 360° turn in the water. With each degree, his face fell more and more. "Sire! No, he's not gone! He has to be here somewhere! He has to!"

Tetra felt close to tears herself. She knew better than him. _"_ _Sometimes... close people disappear from your life."_ she thought, trying to find some way to say it to him out loud. _"but not everyone can accept that."_

Link didn't show that he knew the King was gone, but he did. That made it quite a surprise when a large, red shape burst through the surface of the water. "King!" Link smiled and hugged the dripping boat around the front tightly... but he got no words back. He backed away and looked into the King's glass eyes.

The pupils were missing from them and the glass was now milky-white. The head did not turn to face him. It was stuck, forever staring into space, at nothing in particular. Its mouth didn't move. It stayed with its blocky teeth gritted.

Link drooped his head, almost completely submerging it underwater. He hated people seeing him crying. Tetra, unsure of what else to do, swam over to him slowly and put a silent, comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Link... I am so sorry."

* * *

The two had sat next to each other quietly for about half an hour. All of the functions on the boat still worked. The sail still worked, the storage compartment still worked, even the cannon still worked, which Link had accidentally demonstrated by reminiscing of when he would say 'Cannon, please' to activate the machine, but the boat was still completely lifeless.

 **Ffff... Fffff... Ffff... FFFF... FFFF...**

The flapping of wings made Link stop staring at the water as he noticed a reflection drifting elegantly through the air towards him.

"Link! Miss! You're both OK! Thank goodness!"

The two looked up. Dressed in exceedingly bright clothing so he could be seen from a distance, Prince Komali, flapped overhead with the biggest smile of relief on his face.

"Komali." Link droned monotonously, glad to see him but still not over his emotions. "Did you hear about what happened to Med-" Link nearly finished what he wanted to say, but he stopped. Hyrule was gone. The Earth Temple and Wind temples were in Hyrule. If Hyrule was well and truly gone... he didn't want to finish thinking about it either. It was taking him every ounce of willpower to not fall into hysterics right there and then, thinking that his two close friends were missing and... possibly...

"Oh, yes, Medli!" Komali said contentedly. Link suddenly felt like he had a spot of hope for both her and Makar. "She's been worried about you recently. Just… hold on for a bit. Maybe cover your ears!"

With that, the Rito flew into the air, pulled out a large, round horn and blew into it as a signal.

 **PHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!**

Off in the distance, a familiar vessel turned 90° and began heading straight for them.

"There they are!" shouted a very deep voice.

"Where?" panted a rather nasal voice.

"Dere! Dat red nanny!" cheered a rather rough but young voice.

"What?" replied the nasal voice. "What does my grandmother have to do with this?"

"No, ye wally! Nanny, nanny goat, boat!"

Wait, rhyming slang?

The ship got closer and closer towards Link's boat, its passengers cheering all the while.

"My crew!" shouted Tetra, waving furiously at the approaching ship. Numerous members ran to the long prow of the boat and started waving at the two wildly.

"Link!" called Niko as he ran to the side and almost fell right off the edge. "Ah! Blimey!"

"Where?! Where?!" squeaked a very high pitched voice. Link looked up at the side of the ship.

"There he is! Down there! On the boat!" said a female voice that sounded around the same age as Link. The boy looked up at the guard rail. There, sitting on top of it was Makar and standing beside him was Medli.

They were free. They were alive... They were no longer slaves to time!

"Liiiiink!"

The last voice stood out to Link. It was high and young sounding. She sounded about eight or ten…

"Aryll!" cried Link as he recognised the girl. It was Aryll all right, but her dirty dress had been replaced by a maroon one, bespangled with skulls and crossbones.

"Brother!"

Aryll dashed along the prow of the ship, bouncing up and down. Unlike when Link had broken her out of the Forsaken Fortress, she was completely clean. Nudge must have let her use his shower.

Link hid the fact he was upset slightly so he wouldn't affect Aryll with it and started to wave at her.

He was still very distressed, but he was very safe.

The boy felt Tetra's finger prodding him on the shoulder.

"Come on, Link. Let's go home." she said, glancing at the lifeless red boat's head as the crew threw a rigging over the side. Link nodded to her, his lower lip stilling.

"I'd like that."

As a rigging flew overboard, the children climbed up the ropes until they swung over the railing where they were met with countless hugs by the crew, Aryll, Medli and Makar.


	35. The Wind Will Guide Us

It was a silent and sad trip back to Outset for Link. Mostly all of the people on board the ship were down in the belly of the boat, celebrating up a storm. Music was playing from a phonograph, all the adult pirates were filling giant mugs up with a frothy liquid that was pouring from the tap of a barrel, Tetra was choosing which songs came next, Ritos were walking and flying around the room, Koroks were spinning through the air with their samaras, Medli and Makar were just watching in fascination and Aryll was looking for her brother in the pit of pirates. Several times, she saw Gonzo's green shirt and stopped him, but his size quickly gave him away.

"Excuse me, Niko, have you seen my brother anywhere?" she asked as Niko came stumbling past. The boy stopped and looked at her for a moment, remembering the time shared with his friend.

"Eh? Well, I 'aven't seen yer manhole since we pulled 'im aboard da boat!" answered Niko. "Don' worry yerself! I'm sure 'e's at da morry somewhere!"

With that, the pirate disappeared into the crowd. As he vanished, a set of clacking footsteps started making their way towards the girl.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" puffed a breathless voice, pushing through the crowd of people. Finally, Medli came bursting out towards Aryll. "What's wrong? Are you lost?" she asked.

"No. I'm just wondering where my brother is. Do you know Link? The one in the green clothes?"

"Oh! Yes! Him! He actually helped me restore the power to his blade, so I know a lot about him!" said Medli. "I'll help you look for him."

Medli extended her wings and pulled Aryll into the air with her, beating her wings wildly to stay aloft. Aryll was a lot lighter than her brother, so she was having a much easier time keeping aloft compared to flying Link around in the stagnant air of the Earth Temple.

"Do you see him?" she called over the sound of her own wing beats. Aryll scanned the sea of heads, her own head almost brushing the room's ceiling. Unfortunately, no green, floppy cap caught her eyes. Just bandannas of red and yellow.

"I can't see him. Thanks for helping, though."

Medli sighed sadly and prepared to land so she could put Aryll down. The sound of a spinning samara and frantic, infantile panting rattled towards the two, disorienting them for a moment as they tried to pinpoint where the noises were coming from.

"Link's sister! Link's sister! I've found your brother!" squealed Makar as he flew over to them, "He's outside on the deck! He seems upset!"

Medli and Aryll gasped, the former landing and putting the latter down. "Thank you, mister!" said Aryll hurriedly before the three of them began to run through the crowd, causing one pirate to drop his drink.

 **Splot!**

* * *

 **CRASH!**

Medli and Aryll almost sent the door flying off its hinges as they burst out onto the sunset-bathed deck. Makar flew along behind them and Aryll nearly slammed the door on him by accident. Just as the Korok had said, Link was unresponsive, sitting on a stool and gazing out into the orange rays, glimmering on the white horses of the sea. Beside him sat the empty shell of his boat, which the crew had pulled aboard with them. Most of them had no idea he used to be alive and were just under the impression that it was a regular boat. It was now, but Link couldn't tell them the truth out of fear of them thinking his travels had driven him insane.

"Hey, what's wrong?" said Medli soothingly as she stepped towards him. The sight of her friend in such a low state made her almost as sad as him. Every time she had seen him, he was brave, confident, humble and a leader. Makar also had a very good reason to be panicked at this. The boy had saved him from the jaws of two separate monsters and he looked up to him as an older role model. He wanted to save others from certain death as well.

"Yeah, big brother! Are you all right?" asked his sister, running towards him and placing her hand on his shoulder.

Link was silent for a few moments as the three crowded around him. "Yeah… I'm just… fine. I'm OK." sighed the boy, not turning around. He hummed in frustration as he realised his voice broke and did not mask his sadness at all.

"Big brother… You're not OK." replied Aryll softly. "If you were, you'd be down there with everyone else, celebrating your victory! You can tell us what's upsetting you!"

"Yeah!" chimed in Makar.

"We'll listen!" assured Medli.

…

…

…

Slowly, Link turned to face the former King, the areas under his eyes stained red from crying. Medli, Makar and Aryll followed his gaze.

"Oh, hey! Sire! How are-?" said Medli with a breath of excitement. This excitement quickly left her when she was answered by dead silence. This was not like the King at all. Especially after such a big victory, he'd be chatting up a storm with everyone! After all, pretending to be lifeless and then scaring people by talking was his thing, so he'd told her.

"Wait, is he..." faltered Makar, his voice breaking.

"Yes. I… The king gave his life so that I could have a future. So Ganondorf wouldn't destroy it." mumbled Link. Aryll looked completely baffled.

"But… Its a boat." she said. "What happened? And who's..."

"Oh, right. You don't know." sighed Link. Medli opened her mouth to explain to her, but Link continued. "In fact, there's a lot about him that you don't know, so I'll explain to you all."

Slowly, in monotone, Link told the trio all about the stories that they didn't know. He filled Aryll in on why he referred to the boat as if it was a person.

"A talking boat? Did you hit your head when you landed in the water?" she gasped.

"No, I didn't. The boat was very much alive." said Link, his voice cutting out of monotone.

"He's right. I saw it with my own eyes." supported Medli.

"Yeah! Me too!" squeaked Makar.

"Well..." continued Link, "I got a sail from a nice, foreign man in a shop and..."

The conversation kept going and going and going. Both of the former sages and Aryll stood further and further upright as Link talked. Not only because they were intrigued but because they noticed that... letting it all out was helping! Link looked like he was feeling better, having a trio that understood him and believed his crazy stories.

"After going through the Tower of the Gods… He decided to dive all the way underwater to a hidden, forgotten kingdom! Hyrule!"

" **HYRULE?!** " screamed all three of the spectators.

"Yes, Hyrule."

"Big brother, isn't that what you went to Sturgeon to learn about?" stammered Aryll, taking a few mental steps back.

"Yes, it is! It was under this massive dome that stopped all the water pouring onto it. There, I got the Master Sword!" Link reached for the weapon and couldn't feel it. After a brief moment of panic, he remembered that it was lodged in an unrecognisable stone formation at the bottom of the ocean, which was just fine as its final resting place. "Well… I returned to the surface. That was when I rescued you, sis!"

"Wait, was the Master Sword that one you started moving about in there?" Aryll began searching her mind for what the Master Sword could have looked like. She had tried removing every cursed thought of the Forsaken Fortress behind but now she was surfing through archives of her imprisonment. "I thought it was different from your last one!"

"Yeah! It was! Afterwards, I went back to Hyrule and found out that the King was… Literally a King. Like… An actual monarch! The King of Hyrule!"

" **NO WAY!** " shouted the enraptured three in surprise.

"From there, we got you two to power the Master Sword up so I could beat Ganondorf and… I did. The King flooded the kingdom and… he took himself with it."

Link had been very animated as the story rose and when it fell… so did his face.

Medli picked up Makar and whispered to him.

"What do we do?"

"I have an idea!" answered Makar, equally hushed. "I don't think that he's fully taken it in yet! Ask him if he's noticed anything!"

"What?" whispered Medli. "What's that meant to do?"

"He seemed upset that he had to make us stay in the praying chambers and then Hyrule got flooded, but now we're free and alive! I don't think he's fully realised that yet!"

Medli's face brightened. "Yes! That's a good idea!"

The girl cleared her throat. "Link?" The boy turned to face Medli, wiping traces of Ganondorf's blood off his face in case she thought it was his own. "Notice anything?"

Link squinted a little. "You have a new hairstyle?"

Makar put his palm to his face and groaned jokingly, but Medli just snorted in laughter a bit.

"Not quite."

"Polished your harp?"

"Well, yes, but something else?"

Link thought on her wording... She just asked if he noticed anything, but she never said anything about her in particular. He looked to Makar. "Have you got a new leaf mask?"

Makar nearly fell out of Medli's arms laughing. Instead of doing the same, Medli thought a bit more and continued. "Remember what you said in the Earth Temple when you were about to leave?" she asked hopefully.

"That… I hope we met again some-" started Link before he suddenly stopped dead. How had he not absorbed this by now? All this time, Medli and Makar were right in front of him... They weren't gone...

Link stared at the two, white faced in surprise. "You're… You're… back." he muttered between gasps of air.

"Finally!" said Makar, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Yes. We're back." said Medli softly.

"You're back!"

Suddenly, Link almost floored Medli and **DEFINITELY** floored Makar with a massive hug.

"Whoa!" laughed Medli. "Taking a page of my book, I see!"

"Please let me go, Link!" gasped Makar. "You're squishing me!"

"Oh, sorry!" said Link with a nervous laugh as he loosened his grip. "Is that better?"

"Yes. Thank you, Link!"

Finally satisfied with her brother's happiness and general mood, Aryll stepped to the group and joined the hug herself, stretching her arms around all three.

" **LAAAAAAAAAAND HO!** " bellowed Zuko from the top of the crow's nest. Link, Aryll, Medli and Makar all ran off up to the front of the ship and looked ahead.

In the distance was a set of twin islands. The island on the left had a normal peak, the one on the right had a forest on top. Both were connected by a capable looking rope bridge.

It was Outset Island.

Finally, Link and Aryll could arrive home.

Medli turned around to look at the red boat that lay still on the deck, frowning with thoughtfulness. Finally, she turned back to Link as the boat rocked to a halt at the dock.

"Link..." she began. Link looked over at her, as did Makar. "I have an idea."

* * *

 _ **{Epilogue}**_

* * *

I bet you're wondering what Medli's idea was, eh? Well, Dragon Roost Islands Aviary had a room that was used for the religious. Basically a church that was labelled "Sala de oración y alabanza". Link saw it on the way up the lift on his first visit to Dragon Roost. He didn't think he'd see it again, let alone actually use it.

Do you know what the idea is now?

Yes, Medli had somehow convinced all of the Rito of Link's story and they set up a memorial service for the King of Hyrule. Link had never been to an event like this before. It just felt so bizarre.

Masses and masses and masses of people had gathered to pay their respects to this hero, who had given his entire kingdom and himself to save who knows how many lives from Ganondorf. Everywhere you looked, there were people. A whole line of citizens from all over the Great Sea were spiraling up and down the path (thank goodness they'd finally got the new guard rail up) and out of the Aviary. Those who couldn't get in listened to the service outside via a second vicar.

Even those who had hardly even seen Link had turned up. Doc Bandam from Windfall was at the very back of the room, Cannon the bomb master was standing on a barrel so he could see what was going on, Cranston the silver pheasant was shooting death glares over to Mr. Ken's golden pheasant, **EVERYONE** was there.

Link sat at an empty pew at the front of the church between Aryll and Medli. Granny sat to the left of Aryll, dressed in a black bonnet and dress. The old lady had been working on her grandchildren's looks before they arrived and her effort showed. Aryll's hair was smart and loose and she wore a black and purple dress and brown, leather shoes. Link's hair was neatly done into a brushed up side quiff with no hat and he wore a suit. The Pirates finished ferrying people from various islands and they pushed through crowd after crowd after crowd to get to their reserved pew. Even they came smartly dressed for the occasion. Throughout it, Gonzo was crying into a handkerchief, blowing his nose and making a sound as if he was playing the tuba, even though he'd never met the man. Niko continuously asked who was 'brown bread' and Mako had his head buried in the hymn book.

Everyone mumbled their way through Hylian hymns and a Rito that was clearly used to speaking Spanish made a rather butchered speech about the King and his heroism. It wasn't his fault. Try doing a speech entirely in Spanish about a boat that could talk. His voice started to raise whenever he read something off the script that sounded like something out of a medieval fantasy novel. He could have been waffling on about any old man who had just sent the entire ocean crashing onto himself.

Link knew the coffin everyone looked at with the old Hyrulean flag draped over it was completely empty, but the painting of the King from Link's descriptions of him sat in a frame on top of it and it had come out much better than he expected. He was usually terrible at describing things to people, but his descriptions to the talented Rito artist were completely perfect. He remembered every last detail. His beard, his collar, even tiny things like the way his robe was outlined by gold, curly stripes.

"Now, everyone, stand for the final hymn of the day." the vicar instructed, ruffling his papers, "Please open your books to page 213, hymn 909, 'I Vow To Thee My Country'. Mr. González, the music, please!"

Another elderly Rito, who sat at a multi-layered pipe organ, nodded to the vicar and lay his fingers on the keys, beginning to play a few notes. As the lyrics approached, everyone rose to their feet and opened their hymn books before starting to sing.

" **I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,**

 **Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;**

 **The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test**

 **That lays upon the altar, the dearest and the best...** "

Link mumbled through the hymn, not wanting anyone to hear that his voice was shaking out of gratitude for everyone's care. Beside him, he heard Medli's angelic, majestic singing voice. Behind, he heard Makar's high, infantile and endearing voice. It didn't really fit with the song... but that didn't mean it was bad. Aryll's voice fit the song perfectly, despite its heavy youth and Granny had heard this song hundreds of times from when she played it from her gramophone, forgot to replace the record before lifting and dropping the needle back down, and then having it repeat for hours on end. She made not one mistake.

All the people in the Great Sea coming to pay respects to the man Link thought of as a father figure... it filled him with a warm feeling. Something he never thought he'd ever know again.

Happiness.

* * *

When all was done, Link's friends all descended upon his house to keep him company for a while. Komali and Medli, who had barely separated from each other's company upon reunion, chatted with Link's kindly grandmother, who never forgot a single conversation they were trying to hold. Makar and Linder, who had hardly not been playing together since the former's return, were flying around the house, checking out every nook and cranny.

"Hey, Linder! Look! He had these weapons when he came and saved from the Forbidden Woods!"

"Oh! I recognise those!"

"Whoa! Look at the red stuff in there! It's mesmerising!"

"Don't go in there! That's the fireplace!"

Link just sat on the sofa and stared down at his new weapon. After being told about Link's time with the Master Sword, Orca laboured long and hard to craft him an absolutely cracking replica of the sacred. He had gone all the way to a rocky island to mine Luminous Stone and promptly made a smashing sword out of it. It wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the Master Sword was, but it was just as light and easy to handle. It even glowed, just like the real blade and made the signature **VUM** noises.

"Link!"

The boy nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a tiny, stubby hand touch his side and a pale, skinny hand on his shoulder. The two sages had come back to see him. Both of their faces were covered in a thin, yellow substance and they each held a bottle filled with soup.

"We just wanted to say, we love this place! Your home is amazing!" chirped Makar.

"Yes! And your grandmother! She is an **amazing** cook! I've had about three bottles of her soup and I still haven't got tired of it!" said Medli as she raised her soup and almost downed the entirety of it in one.

"She makes it all the time." replied Link. "And thank you, Makar. You too, Medli."

Suddenly, the door burst open. Several people went running out of the door and into the sands to play. He wasn't sure, but Link thought he saw Mila among the crowd, now wearing normal clothes. Not ridiculously rich clothes, not dirt poor clothes, just normal, plain clothes.

"Oh! Well, we'll be going off with them! Will you be all right on your own or would you like to come with us?" asked Medli. Link shook his head.

"No thanks. I'll stay here for a while. I… I forgot to tell you, but I'm… travelling with Tetra in two weeks. We're going to find new land."

"Oh?" squeaked Makar. Medli simply took him outside. She understood. Link had to spend as much time with his family as he could and while he could.

* * *

Finally, the time had come. The time for Link and Tetra to finally start work on the King's request. During his week, Link received several visitors. Quill the postman delivered letters of support and good luck from the other Rito and Windfallers (and his own blessings), both sages and their friends came to see him a lot. even Tetra and her pirates came around prematurely just to see how he was doing. Niko would often say that he had 'a nice cat', but Link did not own a cat. Must have been another slang word. Orca would quickly pop around every day to teach Link some new techniques. Kevin the pig even came scratching at the door every day until it was time to go.

As much as Link wanted to set off quickly, he was going to miss his home. He knew the island like the back and front of his hand. He knew every single lookout spot, every single climbing tree, every single shade of blue the ocean would turn at exactly what time of each month, he knew every constellation he could see outside his window at night, he knew even the most trivial details.

" _Pull yourself together, Link!"_ thought the boy, _"It's not like I'll never come back at any point!"_

Link was standing at the end of the jetty, back in his beloved, green clothes, where Tetra's ship was moored up. He felt himself over to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. All he felt was the remaining wounds from his battle with Ganondorf. Most of the slashes had gone down but there was one that Orca had diagnosed as a scar that would stay on his chest forever and never leave its new home. Not ever. It was from the time Ganondorf had almost knocked Link off the tower with his darkness infused blade. Medli, Makar, Aryll and Granny were both very sympathetic and tried their best to find something to make it go down but it was no use.

But Link didn't mind. He had supportive friends and family and that was all that mattered. Plus, most of the pirates had scars of their own that they thought were great achievements.

* Tetra had a scar on her forehead from a duel with a rival.

* Gonzo had one around his ear after falling off one of Niko's poorly constructed challenges.

* Nudge had what he thought was a permanent burn from when he just recently slipped in the shower and grabbed the water lever for support, accidentally turning the temperature all the way up, though Tetra said it would disappear in a week.

* The last pirate with a scar was Niko, who... had fallen off the top bunk.

 _"So I should fit right in."_

"Your bag, brother!" chimed Aryll as she ran along the jetty to Link, carrying his brown, bottomless bag. He had to refill it with gear from scratch now because as the current swept him from Hyrule, all of what he had fell out, lost in the hazy mists of a forgotten land. His grappling hook, which he had apologised to a very understanding Medli for losing, the Deku Leaf, which was now presumably floating on the surface somewhere, the boomerang, which was probably not coming back this time, his bombs, which probably blew up from the water pressure, his bow and arrows, the Mirror Shield and the Hookshot. The only thing he preserved was his Picto box and Aryll's telescope. He planned to use the former to send photos to his family if he ever found a postbox.

"Thank you, Aryll." said Link as he fumbled about in his bag one last time for his gear.

Even the Wind Waker was gone. That was the worst thing Link felt he could have lost. Ocean travel would have been so much more handy if he could control the winds, but... it couldn't be helped. In fact, it wasn't all bad. He started wanting to live a more normal life again, so why not now?

"You will… come back one day, will you?" asked Aryll hopefully. Link couldn't help but notice her voice breaking.

"Oh, sis!" Link hugged his sister tight, which she returned, fighting not to burst into tears. Link planted a tender kiss on her head before putting her down. From above, he heard a teasing voice.

"Oy! Finish up yer mix an' muddle and we can se' off!"

 **NIKO.**

Link glared daggers up at the pirate as two unseen figures threw a rigging overboard.

"Aryll, I've left a sword up by my old shield. I want you to have them now. When you feel confident, take it, by the handle of course, and ask Orca for some lessons." explained Link.

Aryll nodded. "Right! When you return, I'll show you just how much I'd have learned!"

"And… before I forget again… Here's your telescope back!"

Link smiled inspiringly as he handed the girl her telescope. Trying to hide her tears, Aryll turned and ran up the jetty.

With that, Link tried to scramble up onto the boat, but he felt a large impact on his back, almost sending his teeth flying out like joke shop gnashers. Turning around, he saw Orca standing behind him, a proud grin on his face.

"Ow! Steady on, Orca!" Link said with a bit of laughter as he examined his back and noticed a large hand print on the back of his tunic.

The man turned red and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I just wanted to say… I am glad you were my student."

The man bowed down to Link, who mimicked him.

"You were, by far, my most talented pupil." finished Orca. Turning around, he began to walk back up the jetty.

"Oh, I say! Junior!"

Granny came bustling down the jetty, carrying a basket full of food and her soup. "For the journey! Don't forget to write!" The woman pushed the basket into Link's hands and almost asphyxiated him with a giant hug. She planted a kiss on his forehead. "I love you so much, junior!"

"I love you too, Granny. I'll try and find somewhere I can send you letters. I can't leave you without me in your life again." said Link. Granny turned and trotted off. As she reached Orca, the man draped an arm around her shoulder and walked with her, whispering words of encouragement to her. Saying that her son would go on to do great things.

The boy clambered up the side of the boat. Standing on top were Medli and Makar again, who had thrown the rigging earlier. Quill stood by Medli and a few Koroks huddled around Makar. Thinking of the new friends he had made in the former sages and their peers filled him with a bittersweet feeling in his heart. On one hand, he couldn't put into words how grateful he was that the two had been dismissed from their duties before the flood. For the entirety of his final fight, he thought his close friends were slowly drowning in their temples. Plus, he would never have met them if he hadn't been on his quest, so that was something good out of it that persisted.

On the other side of things... who knew when he was going to see them again? Medli was kind and sweet and was never afraid to lend a hand or a comforting word, which reminded Link of what he saw Aryll becoming in a few years. Makar was innocent, endearing and full of positive energy, boasting a height which didn't really fit his status as a hero, much like what Aryll thought about Link.

Quill cleared his throat and smiled warmly to Link. "I am sure there are many people who wouldn't want to lose contact with you, niño. Myself included. Young Medli as well." Medli politely bowed to Link.

"Of course!" she beamed, "Even now, you're a massive subject of discussion in our Aviary!"

"The Koroks over there have also talked about you non-stop." Quill continued, pointing over to Makar and his group of friends. All of them nodded and squeaked German words in agreement. "We all had a meeting together and decided to make sure we can all still communicate. The Chieftain has organised a message delivery system between the Great Sea and your pirate ship. Just write and I shall drop by to take it for delivery."

Link looked back at the dock at all the people, looking up at him and preparing for his departure. His eyes began flowing, feeling just how much everyone cared for him. As he turned back, he rushed forward and hugged Quill tightly. The man returned the favour of the boy's hug, as did Medli, Makar and all the Koroks. "Thank you... Thanks so much!"

Link finally let go of the Rito and he ruffled the boy's hair once more, styling it back into his signature quiff. "You are very welcome, lad. But... Medli asked me something yesterday... about how she got out of the temple before it flooded. She heard a strange... sound and didn't know who it was. Makar asked me the same thing. Do you know who it might have been?"

"So, we were praying for the Master Sword as we usually do, and we started smelling brine. Suddenly, we heard this deep, echoing voice!" said Medli, slightly puzzled. Link leaned forward in interest.

"Yeah!" squeaked Makar. "It was just like… ' **You have fulfilled your duties as a sage. You must flee this temple immediately for your own** **sake!** '"

Suddenly, Link's heart dropped.

Oh, no. It was...

"We both heard rumbling and water started leaking through the walls, so we both used the port- Hey, are you OK?" faltered Medli. She could see that Link's eyes were starting to water. She looked over to where he was looking, seeing that he had fixed his eyes on the lifeless, red boat that the pirates now kept aboard as a permanent memory. "Oh. It was… him, wasn't it?"

Link silently nodded his head and then hung it down. He still hadn't gotten over it, despite it being two weeks ago. Medli looked down with sad eyes, understanding her friend's pain. She even felt it herself. Makar immediately understood who he heard as well and started to feel immensely guilty for imitating him with such an exaggerated voice.

"I am so sorry." said Medli softly. Makar tried to hug him, but he had a pretty hard time because of his size and stubby arms. Medli joined in, doing what she could do very well.

Suddenly, Link felt Tetra joining in. When he opened his eyes again, he calmed down a little. The trio's efforts had worked.

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?" said Tetra solemnly. This time, Link mustered up the strength to answer.

"Yeah. He did. I mean, the way he hid everything from me until the last second was… kind of irritating, but… now that he's gone… I am beginning to miss that. He was just… looking out for me. The whole time. I wish I'd realised that sooner I wish he was here to see all this."

"Sometimes, one has to be cruel to be kind." said Tetra. "He wasn't cruel, per se, but… you know what I mean."

Link looked up at her, his face filled with a look that implied that he felt he could have stopped the death of his guardian. "Why? Why didn't he just come with us? I almost reached him in time!"

Tetra didn't want to hear any more at risk of tears battering through her eyes as well. Silently, she pulled Link into another tight hug. They stayed like that for several moments. Tetra did not even snap when Niko made a playful, verbal jab at them. Link didn't even get mad. He was just happy to be with the people he enjoyed the company of.

"Right, then!" shouted Tetra, breaking away "Lift the anchor! Check the steering! Let's go! And fast!"

"Right!" answered Gonzo. All of the pirates got to work. Link bashed the gong, Niko went downstairs to wait for a potential new student, Zuko hauled himself up the ladder, Mako began reading out coordinates and Gonzo stood at the gong, waiting for his turn to strike. With their goodbyes said and done, Quill, Medli, Makar and the rest of the Koroks took off, flying through the air like a pack of racing pigeons, back to their home islands. For a moment, they turned around and flew backwards for a few meters, all yelling back to him.

"Good luck finding new land!"

"Come visit home any time!"

Link wiped his eyes on his sleeves. "Where is our next destination, Tetra?" he asked as he looked back at Outset one last time.

Suddenly, the wind picked up a slight breeze, aiming straight away from Outset. At long last, the boat began to rock away from Outset. It kept going and going and going until the waving villagers were just specks in the horizon, as was the island. It was only then when Tetra answered her friend's question.

"Our destination?" she repeated. She folded her arms and looked at him with her signature wink before making her way to the side of the ship as the sun began setting behing them. Her hive hairstyle fluttered in the gentle sea breeze. "The wind shall guide us."

Link followed her and leaned on the rail. He took one look at the King of Red Lions, whose boat was being kept aboard the ship as an eternal memorial. "I don't know what the future holds for us." Link said, smiling from his memories with the King, "But that means I can imagine all the possibilities. We can achieve anything we put our minds to."

* * *

 _ **{THE END}**_

* * *

Well, that's the end of the story! Already! Well, I hope you all enjoyed my adaptation!

Thank you to the guests who have left those nice reviews. If I can grab the time to do it, I'll make a translation page, putting what the foreign speakers were saying in English.

Man, I am really going to miss doing this! I'm probably going to relax the next day and be all like "AAAAAAAARGH! I'M LATE!" and then realise… I've finished the book already!

I wish you all safe travels. Let the wind guide you. I, like Link, like Zelda, like Medli, like Makar, like… the King… must have some kind of destiny that I have to fulfil.

I'll see you in my next piece of work. I look forward to seeing all of you.


	36. Translations

_**{TRANSLATIONS}**_

* * *

 _ **{SPANISH}**_

* * *

"¡AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! PÁJARO GIGANTE! ¡CADA UNO, ENTREN!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! GIANT BIRD! EVERYONE, INSIDE!"

* * *

"AL CIELO!"

"TO THE HEAVENS!"

* * *

"Si necesitas ayuda del Orni, ve a Isla del Dragón."

"If you need help from the Rito, go to Dragon Roost Island.

* * *

" **¡¿QUÉ?!"**

 **"WHAT?!"**

* * *

¿Que fue ese ruido?"

"What was that noise?"

* * *

"¡¿Otra vez?! ¿Quién está haciendo todo ese ruido?"

"Again? Who is making all that noise?"

* * *

"¡Veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco! ¡SÍ! ¡Veinticinco letras!"

"Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, twenty five! YES! Twenty five letters!"

* * *

"¡Se supone que debes hacerlos coincidir correctamente, Eduardo!"

"You're supposed to match them correctly, Eduardo!"

* * *

"Volemos!"

"Let's fly!"

* * *

"Creo que este es él."

"I think this is him."

* * *

"Ropa fresca!"

"Cool clothes!"

* * *

""Todos, este es Link. Él es el chico del que te hablé antes."

"Everyone, this is Link. He's the boy I told you about before."

* * *

"Ya sabes cómo es el príncipe. Él sólo ... Espera, ¿el chico está bien?"

ooo

"Está tratando de rescatar a su hermana, que fue agarrada por un pájaro gigante y ahora está atrapada en la Isla del Diablo. Es comprensible que esté triste."

ooo

"¿Qué le hizo venir aquí?"

ooo

"Ha venido a buscar la perla de Din. Creo que junto con los otros dos cumplirán su propósito."

ooo

* * *

"You know how the prince is. He just… Wait, is the boy OK?"

ooo

"He's trying to rescue his sister, who was seized by a giant bird and is now trapped on the Isle of the Devil. It is understandable why he is sad."

ooo

"What have you come here for?"

ooo

"He has come to find the pearl of Din. I believe that, together with the other two, it will fulfill its purpose."

ooo

* * *

"¡Necesitas un domador de leones para entrar allí!"

"You need a lion tamer to get in there!"

* * *

"No más exageraciones."

"No more exaggerations."

* * *

"Niño"

"Child"

* * *

"¡Quill, necesitamos tu ayuda!"

"Quill, we need your help!"

* * *

"¡La próxima vez, recuerde revisar el otro lado de la escotilla antes de volar!"

"Next time, remember to check the other side of the hatch before you fly!"

* * *

"Ah! ¡Niño! ¿Necesitas ayuda?"

"Ah! Child! Need help?"

* * *

"Y es por eso que deberíamos tener un tanque de agua para beber desde aquí."

"And that's why we should have a water tank to drink from in here."

* * *

"¡Esa es una buena idea y eso es todo para la reunión de hoy! De acuerdo, nos vemos mañana!"

"That's a good idea and that's the end of today's meeting! See you tomorrow!"

* * *

"Hay alguien en la puerta."

"There's someone at the door."

* * *

 _ **{HINDI}**_

 **"Aane ke liye aap sabhi ka dhanyavad!"**

 **"Thank you all for attending!"**

* * *

 **"ladki ko vaapas lao!"**

 **"Retrieve the girl!"**

* * *

"Tum, meri jaan, hamaari rani ki shakti ka hissa banogi!"

"You, my dear, will become a part of our Queen's power!"

* * *

"Kya-! **Zanjeeron mein kucch phasa hua hai!** "

"What the-? **Something's stuck in the chains!** "

* * *

 **"US TALAVAAR KO TURANT HATAO! YAHAAN GHUSAPAITHIE HAIN!"**

 **"REMOVE THAT SWORD AT ONCE! WE HAVE INTRUDERS!"**

* * *

Pul par unka peecha karo.

Follow them onto the bridge.

* * *

Dharti par bojh!

Burden on earth!

* * *

 **Mere neeche vale aadmi ko jaan se maar daalo!** **Use teer se maaro!**

 **Kill the guy below me! Shoot him with arrows!**

* * *

 **Tum Kahan nishana laga rahe ho? Antariksh?**

 **Where are you aiming? Space?**

* * *

 _ **{GERMAN}**_

" **Krogs! Kleine Kinder des Waldes! Dieser Junge ist nicht dein Feind!** **Du kannst jetzt rauskommen!** "

" **Koroks! Little children of the forest! This boy is not your enemy! You can come out now!** "

* * *

"Ein Besucher?"

ooo

"Was könnte er wollen?"

ooo

"Ich finde er sieht süß aus!"

ooo

"Er hat einen seltsamen Geruch."

* * *

"A visitor?"

ooo

"What could he want?"

ooo

"I think he looks cute!"

ooo

"He has a strange smell."

* * *

" **Krogs! Drei, zwei, einz...** "

" **Koroks!** **Three, two, one..."**

* * *

"DEKU-BAUM!"

"DEKU TREE!"

* * *

"Er ist schon lange weg."

ooo

"Ich hoffe er lebt!"

ooo

"Und auch Makar!"

ooo

"Ich kann ihn jetzt zurückkehren sehen. Er wird Makar bei sich haben und - Warte eine Minute!"

* * *

"He's been gone for a long time."

ooo

"I hope he's alive!"

ooo

"And also Makar!"

ooo

"I can see him coming back now, he will have Makar and- Wait a minute!"

 _ **{LATIN/HYLIAN}**_

These two languages are the same. In this story, Latin was used to represent Hylian.

* * *

"Acerba funera ascriberet!"

"Painful death!"

* * *

"Valoo! Autem!"

"Valoo! Now!"

* * *

"Infra Rigentem!"

"Below Freezing!"

* * *

"Telum Pugna!"

"Combat weapon!"

* * *

"Tonitrui!"

"Thunder!"

* * *

"Rosea Recuperandam!"

"Pink Recover!"

* * *

"Flammis!"

"Fire!"

* * *

"Tormentus Aqua!"

"Water cannon!"

* * *

"Ignis!"

"Fire!"

* * *

"Glacies!"

"Ice!"

* * *

"Lux Coelestis!"

"Heavenly Light!"

* * *

 _ **{FRENCH}**_

"Bonjour. Je suis le sage du Temple de la Terre. Pourquoi es-tu venu ici?"

"Hello. I am the sage of the Temple of the Earth. Why did you come here?"

* * *

"Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? Y a-t-il quelque chose dans mes dents? Peut-être un morceau d'os de poisson."

"What's wrong? Is there something in my teeth? Maybe a piece of fish bone."

* * *

"Je vous remercie."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **{POLISH}**_

"Czy jesteś tym z Mistrzowski Miecz?"

"Are you the one with the Master Sword?"

* * *

"Co jest nie tak? Nie możesz zrozumieć polskiego?"

"What's wrong? Can you not understand Polish?"

* * *

"Dziękuję Ci."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **{CLOSE-OFF}**_

Thank you all for your support! All of this was a blast to make! See you in my next story!


End file.
